are pet monkeys allowed in mexico, all of central america and south america?

baby backpack monkey image

mike

Im hitch hiking and backpacking through Mexico and central and south america (Ive done this before). im in mexico now and im with a family who has 2 adult capinchu monkeys and a new born monkey, |I was wondering if its legal to take the new born with me on my jouney.

Answer
No - absolutely not. It's illegal to keep monkeys as pets in many South American countries, including Chile, Bolivia and Peru. This does not mean you won't see families doing it, but you as a tourist will definitely get into trouble. You would not be allowed to take them over international borders - all monkeys are protected by CITES as all are threatened in the wild.

Also - even if you could take the monkey around with you, you'd be doing immeasurable harm to the monkey itself and to the survival of monkeys in the wild. When people see that tourists like baby monkeys, it will encourage them to capture more of them from the wild (this usually involves killing the mothers and any other group members that are trying to protect their kin). So many primate populations are struggling to survive and this is one of the reasons! Please be responsible and don't encourage this!

Bringing the monkey travelling with you would be total torture for the monkey and ultimately, if the monkey survived for a few years, dangerous for you. Capuchins need to stay with their mothers for a long time - several years in fact - and when they are not allowed to do this it can have really damaging effects - it can even hinder proper brain development. Mother-deprived hand-reared monkeys are pretty much guaranteed to develop psychological abnormalities that can range from heightened aggression or submission to over grooming, self-mutilation, pacing, repetitive head twisting or any other indicator of poor welfare. And, monkeys, including capuchins, are dangerous and they can and will attack! If it has not happened yet to the family that you are staying with, it certainly will before too long.

On your travels, why don't you visit one of the primate rescue centers or conservation projects that are all over South and Central America and learn more about this? Then you can spend time with monkeys while helping to make a positive difference rather than perpetuating the pain and suffering of the primate pet trade?

I will have a 2 1/2 year old and a new born this summer. Tandem or side by side?

respekdpic

Would I still need a stroller for a 2 1/2? What double stroller would you recommend? I usually just walk with my 2 year old but I was thinking if I was shopping alone or running errands with both of them, I want to have the option of putting them in a stroller for safety reasons, specially when it's crowded. Thanks.

Answer
I am a fan of the "Sit and Stand" type strollers. Check these ones out:
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=6793
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Sit-N-Stand-Stroller-Galaxy/5246099
http://www.nextag.com/sit-n-stand-stroller/shop-html

Especially at 2 1/2 years old, most likely your older child would not want to be confined to a stroller all the time. This worked very well for my children who were about 2 1/2 to 3 years apart. They do have these "Leashes" which I was never a fan of, because it kind of makes it seem like the children are being treated like animals. My 3rd child was a "Wanderer" though (Found out later he has Autism) so we did use one for a few months. Here are some examples of more discrete ones: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Goldbug-2-in-1-Monkey-Child-Safety-Harness/4532497
http://www.mypreciouskid.com/toddler-backpack-harness.html

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