If a person goes through the right legal procedures and proves ability to properly care for a monkey, they should have the legal right to be able to. If zoos in Colorado can own monkeys in cages, citizens of Colorado should be allowed to hold monkeys also if they are able to take good care of them. Making it illegal for people to have the chance to own these animals and care for them and give them a nice, loving home when the system and other states have the ability to own them is unequal. Especially when those environments the state puts them in actually stress them out, not giving them the life they deserve. 

“In the human world, we are taught from a young age that to stare at others is considered rude. We also know that being stared at – particularly by someone we don’t know or perhaps don’t get along with – can make us feel uncomfortable, threatened or scared. Despite recognizing that being watched or stared at is usually an uncomfortable experience for people, for centuries, people have placed animals in zoos for the specific purpose of being watched. Now, new research has been released that confirms that monkeys in zoos show higher stress levels when they know they are being observed than if they are unaware of the eyes upon them” (Quote from One Green Planet). Why is it legal for monkeys to be held captive in local zoos, an environment that has been scientifically proven to stress them out, rather than it being legal for them to have a legally approved calm, happy home? A place where the owners of the monkey could show them individual love, rather than making them a statistic. After going through the right procedures and set up, people could definitely raise them in a happy, stress free environment more easily. Making monkeys legal is taking a step closer to equality. 

So the big question here is why are the roles so reversed? We need help to do something about this. Please vote in this petition to make monkeys legal in Colorado if you agree. They are better off in actual homes than zoo enclosures.