“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Squirrel Monkey Haven
Dedicated to providing lifelong care to squirrel monkeys retired from research. To this end, we are developing a retirement sanctuary just for squirrel monkeys.
Successful Monkey Retirement
We advise research institutions and primate sanctuaries during monkey retirement negotiations to facilitate successful outcomes for all involved, including the monkeys.
Community Outreach
We share knowledge about squirrel monkeys at events and mentor people dedicated to professional careers that focus on monkey care, health, behavior, welfare, and conservation.
Why squirrel monkeys?
Although native to Central and South America, squirrel monkeys have been imported to the United States from South America since the early 1900’s, to be kept as pets, exhibited in zoos, and used in research. Squirrel monkeys living in the USA cannot go back to the wild and need lifelong care in appropriate facilities.
Note: It is ILLEGAL to keep any species of monkey as a pet in California and most other states.
Why is a squirrel monkey retirement haven needed?
Squirrel monkeys are the most commonly used Neotropical primate in biomedical research in the United States. *In the research community, there is an emerging trend to retire monkeys when research studies are completed, this is GREAT NEWS!*.
Now that monkey retirement is becoming a preferred alternative there is a great need for more retirement housing.
*Lankau EW, Turner PV, Mullan RJ, Galland GG. 2014. Use of Nonhuman Primates in Research in North America. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 53:3 278-282.
Your support helps us provide nutritional food, housing enrichments, and veterinary care to
exceed above & beyond for the monkeys - which we love to do!
What are squirrel monkeys like?
Although small at about 1 to 2 lbs, they have big personalities, are curious about everything, have lots of smarts, and are super social with each other.
Is it safe to release monkeys from research?
VETERINARIANS provide healthcare to monkeys used in research and only release healthy monkeys for retirement.
Squirrel Monkey Haven (SMH)
An enriching lifelong home for squirrel monkeys retired from research.
