The case is part of the campaign Your house is not my habitat against the trafficking of species in the country.
“Won’t coffee hurt me like this? Like this? Without coffee ”, this is one of the short conversations that can be read in one of the Hundreds of memes, whose protagonist is a capuchin monkey, which have been viralized in recent days on social networks in Ecuador and Latin America.
However, this image of the primate, with a gesture between resignation and anger, reveals a cruel reality: the mascotization of wild species. Photos of the primate had already gone viral before. He was even nicknamed as the “TikTok’s most famous monkey“, Since its” owner “uploaded videos of the animal in an account on that digital platform, which so far has more than 18 million followers.
The primate, who was named George, died last June from “complications” with anesthesia in a dental procedure. Despite his death, the owner, who lives in the United States, now has another monkey and assures that the current one is George’s “nephew”. On the Facebook and Instagram page it sells t-shirts and souvenirs with the monkey images. In addition, for this month of December he has published a list of “wishes” for followers to buy items from the animal.
George’s owner claims that the primate “joined the family as an emotional support animal for a person who has a painful nerve disorder.” In the United States there are primate farms for this purpose, but NGOs have questioned this type of practice.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was one of the organizations that alerted about the case of the monkey and its mascotization. WCS used the meme itself to ask: “Won’t it hurt me to live like this? Like this how? Like a pet”. In addition, he indicated that monkeys are one of the most trafficked animals in the world: “To obtain a pet monkey, 9 nine monkeys die at the hands of traffickers.”
In Ecuador, monkeys, along with birds and reptiles, are the most trafficked animals for mascotization. For this reason, WCS Ecuador, the Quito Zoo, Proyecto Sacha, among other organizations, today launch the Your house is not my habitat campaign. One of the factors that this initiative will address is the case of the monkey George.
According to Ecuador’s National Environmental Protection Police Unit (UNPAMB), between 2019 and 2020 around 8,707 wild animals were rescued. Until July 2021, another 3 812 animals were rescued, that is, in the first six months of the current year, almost the total number of specimens was retained in relation to each of the previous years.
Julia Salvador, WCS Ecuador’s coordinator to combat illegal wildlife trafficking, indicates that this type of campaign is essential to continue raising awareness about the non-mascotization of these species.
“In the case of monkeys, people think that just by feeding them they take care of them, but not being in their habitats they suffer. Meanwhile, reptiles, as they can go long periods without eating or drinking, are heavily trafficked.”, It indicates.
For Martín Bustamante, director of the Quito Zoo, although there are still a high number of cases of trafficked animals in the country, more and more people reject this type of act.
“These anti-trafficking campaigns should continue to motivate people not to buy this type of animal”, dice.
The Your house is not my habitat campaign also seeks to discourage the purchase of wild animals this month, since around the holidays, especially at Christmas, people tend to acquire these species as pets. This initiative takes place within the framework of the actions of the regional project Alliance for Wild Fauna and Forests financed by the European Union.
Other participating institutions are: Fundación Herpetológica Gustavo Orcés / Vivarium of Quito, Animal Protection Ecuador (PAE), Coca Zoo, Amaru Bioparque Cuenca, Washu Project, Group for the Study of Primates of Ecuador (GEPE), Yanacocha Animal Rescue Center, and the UNPAMB.
In addition, today, December 14, World Monkey Day is commemorated to raise awareness about the conservation problems of these animals. In addition to hunting and the loss of forests, some species of monkeys in Ecuador are affected by diseases that humans also suffer from, such as yellow fever, Zika or dengue. These evils can harm a person, but for them they are withering.
There are 21 species of primates and one subspecies in the country. Of these, 11 are considered endangered or threatened. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
