Primate housing rules welcomed in BSAVA Congress debate

New rules on the keeping of primates as pets do represent a welfare advance, but may be difficult to replicate for other exotic species, a vet has argued.

Earlier this month, new laws were passed requiring all primates in England to be housed in zoo standard conditions from April 2026.

The development was highlighted during a discussion on the ethics of keeping exotic animals as pets during the BSAVA Congress in Manchester on Friday 22 March.

Nathalie Wissink-Argilaga, current junior vice-president of the British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS), said she hoped the reforms would make an impact, adding: “I think primates as pets are completely unsuitable.”

‘Positive step’

Tariq Abou-Zahr, who leads the exotics service at Valley Exotics in Cardiff, said he felt that requiring primates to be kept in standards akin to that of a zoo was “a positive welfare step”, before cautioning: “I think if we try to extend that to all exotic pets, it’s difficult.”

He also suggested that prospective owners should be required to complete a test before being allowed to keep such animals, in line with policy recommendations for non-traditional companion animals published by the BVA last year.

Defra has argued that the new rules will effectively ban the keeping of primates in domestic settings.

But, in a joint response to the announcement, the BVA and BVZS said greater clarity was still needed on how, and by whom, the new measures would be enforced.