Are keeping orangutans like pets illegal in UK?

Answer 1

Whether they are or not, chimpanzees cannot be pets. As babies, they are easy to care for and can pretty much be raised as a human child. However, once they reach adolescence, they become 7-10 times stronger than a human. No matter how loving a relationship a chimp has with their human family, there is always the possibility they will lose their temper and attack, or attack a neighbour. Not even the trainers in Hollywood can handle them after this, and usually get rid of them or keep them in cages their whole lives after a childhood of severe abuse.

Also, it is not kind to the chimp. When they become too strong to handle, many zoos cannot take pet chimps, because chimps learn their social skills from watching the members of their community as they get older, and they do not know how to interact properly with other chimps. They also cannot be put into the wild for this reason. Sanctuaries are usually full to capacity. Some owners are so desperate they resort to sending their chimp to a biomedical lab to be used as a research subject. Not to mention the fact that these baby chimps are taken from their mothers to be raised by humans. This has exactly the same effect it would on a human mother and child.

Chimps are also very endangered in the wild, and keeping them as pets gives the impression that the species is stable, when nothing could be further from the truth.

If you love chimps, do some research and help protect them in the wild, or fundraise or volunteer for a sanctuary. But never ever ever get a pet chimp. It ends badly for all involved.

Answer 2

Orangutans are NOT good pets! Orangutans are an endangered species,and to get a baby orangutan for the pet trade, their mother is shot, and due to poor handling most infants die en route. Even if they are born in captivity, they are taken from their mothers at birth, and this has the exact same effect it would on a human mother and child.

Orangutans are extremely strong, way stronger than any human. No matter how loving a relationship they have with their owner there is always the possibility they will attack.

As infants, they are relatively easy to care for and can be raised as a human child. When they reach adolescence however, they start to become unmanageable, to the point where they have to be confined to a cage. Not even trainers in Hollywood can handle them at this point. After a lifetime of abuse, the orangutans are either put in abreeding situation or confined to a cage. Even a relatively well equipped cage is not ideal for an orangutan. They are simply too intelligent. It is like confining a human child to a cage their whole life.

Zoos usually cannot take pet orangutans, as they learn how to be an orangutan from their mother, and have no idea how to interact with other orangutans. Many are so humanized they view themselves as humans. Zoos are usually full anyway, and the same goes for sanctuaries.

IF you love orangutans, work to protect them in the wild, visit them in the zoo, or fundraise for the Center for Great Apes, but NEVER keep one as a pet.