Quigley Concludes Trip to Texas Primate Facilities, Introduces Bipartisan "Captive Primate Safety Act"

Today, Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05) concluded a trip to Texas to visit the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary and the San Antonio Zoo, following his introduction of the Captive Primate Safety Act with Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), and Nancy Mace (SC-01) earlier this week.

“Monkeys and apes belong in the wild—not in living rooms. This bill will ban private possession of these animals, ensuring that we are safe and primates are able to live freely,” said Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05), co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus. “As the lead sponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act which was later signed into law, I’m proud to sponsor the Captive Primate Safety Act to advance the same protections for primates.”

Signed into law in 2022, Quigley’s Big Cat Public Safety Act banned the private ownership and breeding of big cats including lions, tigers, and pumas. Similarly, the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act  will ban private ownership of non-human primates like chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. The bill will also prohibit interstate or foreign commerce of these animals, further preventing people from having them as pets. Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) also introduced this legislation in the Senate.

“Primates are intelligent and social creatures. But when primates are kept as pets—in captivity and restrained—they can become highly unpredictable and dangerous,” Senator Blumenthal (CT). “Wild animals belong in the wild, and this legislation ends the inhumane exploitation of these animals as pets—protecting both people and primates.”

“Private ownership of primates is a dangerous and outdated practice that puts both animals and communities at risk,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick (PA-01). “As a Co-Chair of the Animal Protection Caucus, I’m taking action to put an end to this cruelty and close the legal gaps that allow it to continue. The Captive Primate Safety Act will ban the unlicensed trade and private possession of primates—reducing the threat of disease, preventing future tragedies, and ensuring these intelligent animals are no longer subjected to neglect and abuse. It’s time to get this done.”

“Your family shouldn’t have to worry about wild monkeys next door. When reckless owners treat primates like pets, it’s law enforcement, taxpayers, and innocent families who pay the price,”  said Congresswoman Mace (SC-01). “The Captive Primate Safety Act  is simple: protect the public, protect law enforcement, and stop this dangerous trend before someone else gets hurt.”

“Too many times, our sanctuary team has received frantic phone calls from primate pet owners desperate for us to help them. They purchase a monkey when they are just a few weeks old and have no idea that this small, vulnerable animal will soon become a dangerous risk to them and their families,” said Angela Grimes, CEO of Born Free USA. “When the monkey reaches adolescence, the owners start to see instances of aggression – a natural behavior in monkeys – and these instances often escalate to the point of someone being seriously harmed. It is then that a sanctuary is called in to take on the monkey, as the owner realizes that they have made a mistake. Law enforcement is not trained to deal with these animals. This puts their staff in danger when they find illegally kept primates, or it means that confiscation is simply not possible for lack of somewhere for the monkeys to go. Given the dangers posed by primates to humans – including injury and disease transmission – forcing law enforcement agencies to take responsibility for the fallout of the primate pet trade is unacceptable.”

“Primates are highly intelligent, social animals with complex needs that cannot be met in private homes,” said Allison Ludtke, legislative affairs manager at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “The reintroduction of the Captive Primate Safety Act offers a federal solution that is needed to end the trade of nonhuman primates as ‘pets’ in the U.S., instead of the current patchwork of laws that fail to fully address this issue. Keeping nonhuman primates as pets not only causes immense suffering for the animals but also puts the public at serious risk — resulting in injuries, physical and emotional trauma, and costly emergency responses from law enforcement who are unfairly put in the position of managing dangerous wild animals. ALDF applauds Senator Blumenthal, Congressman Quigley, Congressman Fitzpatrick, Congresswoman Mace, and Congresswoman Brownley for their leadership on this impactful and common sense legislation.”

“Primates are wild animals, not pets or playthings” said Susan Millward, CEO and executive director of the Animal Welfare Institute. “Primates have natural instincts that can make them aggressive and unpredictable toward humans, and nobody wins when they’re kept inside a home. These animals suffer permanent physical and mental trauma when they are mutilated, isolated, caged, and malnourished. The Captive Primate Safety Act would protect primates from a lifetime of cruelty.”

“Primates are not pets and the primate pet trade is a risk to human health, individual animal wellbeing, and fuels the illegal wildlife trade,” said Lincoln Park Zoo President & CEO Megan Ross, Ph.D. “The Captive Primate Safety Act not only ends the now-legal pet trade, but will protect these cognitively advanced animals.”

To read the full text of the Captive Primate Safety Act, click here.