Unwanted pets are a growing problem in U.S.

Saturday, Sept. 18, 1999 | 11:16 a.m.

The appeal is unmistakable.

Their humanlike mannerisms are intriguing. The little outfits they sport on television and in movies make them look absolutely adorable.

Monkeys become a "must-have," say breeders and primate organizations. But they're not the average pet.

Five years after purchasing, naming, dressing and bonding with their baby monkey, many owners are shocked to find that the animals turn aggressive and sometimes hostile as they reach sexual maturity.

Others are turned off by the animals' primitive tendencies to wash themselves in urine, throw feces and sexually gratify themselves in public.

It comes as no surprise that many owners who bought a monkey because it was cute and humanlike no longer want the animal.

"But then what?" Kari Bagnall, founder of the nonprofit primate sanctuary Jungle Friends, said. "There aren't very many sanctuaries, so people wind up selling them to research or breeders."

Or they ask people such as Bagnall to take in the animals.

The former Las Vegas resident formed Jungle Friends about five years ago when her then-boyfriend lost interest in his pet monkey.

Shortly afterward Bagnall began accepting other animals -- exotic and farm -- on her one-acre site in northwest Las Vegas. Now a Florida resident, Bagnall focuses on primates.

The organization adopts monkeys that were purchased as babies and later estranged from their owners.

Some that wind up in Bagnall's hands have been abused and neglected. Others have been legally willed to Jungle Friends by owners seeking a good home for the animals after they die. Monkeys in captivity can live to be 40 years old.

Today Jungle Friends has 20 monkeys, seven of whom live with members in Las Vegas. The others live on a 12-acre sanctuary in Florida.

And Bagnall has spent the last few months making room for more.

On Sunday three monkeys whose Las Vegas owner suffers from Alzheimer's disease will board a plane bound for Gainesville, Fla. By October two other monkeys no longer wanted by a Las Vegas couple will fly to Gainesville also.

Although the monkeys are rehabilitated and eventually socialized at the refuge, placing a monkey in a new environment is difficult and often risky, Bagnall said.

"Monkeys are often traumatized by family separation," she said. "Monkeys think. They reason. They have emotional needs. We go through great pains to socialize them."

The monkeys arriving together from Las Vegas have each other for comfort and security. Single monkeys at the sanctuary are hit the hardest, Bagnall said.

"They don't know where their family is and why they're here," she said. "They don't even know they're monkeys. They don't know what those things are out there."

Most of the primates Bagnall has received were kept alone in small cages, she said.

"People went to work and there they sat all day. Monkeys are social animals. They will self-mutilate in isolation. They will rock, sock and bite themselves. They go crazy.

"I just wish people would quit selling them. This is what happens."

But with Internet sites and pet stores selling them, purchasing a primate isn't difficult for anyone with an extra $3,000 to $6,000.

Cheryl Hochstetler, a macaque breeder in Indiana, says monkeys are made popular through the entertainment industry.

"The biggest reason people want a monkey is because they see one on TV," she said. "Others want them because it's similar to owning a child."

Hochstetler has been breeding monkeys for six years. She has 15 breeder monkeys and says she receives seven calls a day from interested buyers, many who find her via the Internet.

She sells about 20 monkeys a year. The majority of buyers are people who don't have children or whose children have left the house, she said.

Hochstetler doesn't agree with Bagnall on monkey behavior. She says monkeys that become hostile are monkeys that have been neglected.

"A person who says their monkey has turned on them is someone who bought a monkey, lost interest and kept it in a cage," she said. "A home monkey is nothing like a zoo monkey. If you raise them in a home, you teach them. It's the same thing with a human child. An attentive parent will more than likely have a responsive child."

In addition to breeder monkeys, Hochstetler has two monkeys that live with her.

"A monkey is not a pet," she said. "A cat or dog is a pet. A monkey is a companion. Like an infant it's a lot of work. The animals need interaction. They need to be sung to and talked to every night."

Hochstetler says she even showers with "her girls" for bonding reasons.

"For the right person, owning a monkey is the best thing that could happen. For the wrong person, it's devastating."

To ensure that the monkey goes to appropriate owners, she says she considers buyers who don't work outside their homes, who have no toddlers or small children, who live in a state where owning monkeys is legal and who don't vacation frequently.

She says she also guarantees with each sale that she will take back the monkeys no longer wanted.

Breeders who don't make such considerations make the breeding business more difficult, she said. So do animal activists who would like to see primate breeding outlawed -- something Hochstetler is opposed to.

Outlawing breeders would create underground, unregulated operations that would endanger the animals' health, she said.

Bagnall is among those who would like to see breeding made illegal. The breeding process is inhumane, she said. Breeders literally pry the monkey off the mother's back while both the mother and baby are screaming, she said.

Las Vegan Sony Rickson, who owns six capuchins, explains on the Internet that primate breeding will never go away and she offers tips on how to select a breeder.

She tries to discourage people from buying monkeys as pets.

Like others, Rickson said she bought a monkey after wanting one since she was a child, but she realized within six months that it was more than she could handle.

"Breeders and pet shops give false information. They'll say anything to make a sale," Rickson said. "Monkeys are a lot of work and a lot of time. And they don't want to deal with humans.

"You're inevitably going to get bit. That's their nature."

And because there are no rabies vaccines for exotic animals, it is illegal to have them as pets. Henderson and North Las Vegas ban them.

Las Vegas residents may own primates but are required to purchase a one-time permit for the animal. Clark County residents may own a monkey without a permit.

Only seven or eight primate owners in Las Vegas have permits, Jim Nee, the city's senior animal-control officer, said. "Most are small capuchins, and once they (the owners) apply, it's a lifetime permit."

Before issuing a permit, animal-control officers inspect the person's house and the monkey cage. A cage strong enough to hold the animal is the main concern, Nee said.

The cage should also be big enough. A monkey that is 18 inches tall can get by in a 3-by-4-foot cage, he said.

"But most people carry them around on their shoulders and carry them around like a baby," he said.

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