They weigh less than a pound. They live in tight-knit family groups. And they’re being stolen from the wild, one trembling body at a time.

The cotton-top tamarin—an iconic, critically endangered monkey found only in northern Colombia—is being pushed toward extinction by the illegal pet trade.

Captured from the treetops and sold for as little as $15, these intelligent, social animals are stripped from their homes and sold as exotic pets. Many don’t survive.

Decades ago, tens of thousands were exported to the U.S. for medical testing. Today, the threat comes from traffickers who exploit poverty and evade weak enforcement. Conservationists on the ground have rescued more than 200 tamarins from the pet trade—many found dehydrated, shaking, and alone. And the population still hasn’t recovered. Fewer than 7,500 remain in the wild.

It’s time for Colombia to act.

We call on the Colombian Ministry of Environment, wildlife enforcement agencies, and local prosecutors to immediately and permanently ban the possession, sale, or trade of cotton-top tamarins as pets, with strong enforcement and public education campaigns to follow.

We also urge the Colombian Congress to designate the cotton-top tamarin as a national conservation priority species, eligible for special funding, legal protection, and anti-trafficking patrols.

These monkeys play a vital ecological role—dispersing seeds, pollinating plants, and helping control insect populations. They are not pets. They are part of Colombia’s natural heritage.

The people protecting them—former loggers turned forest rangers, environmental educators, and biologists—are restoring forests tree by tree. But their work will be undone if the poachers continue.

Let’s make sure no cotton-top tamarin is ever sold again. Let’s protect what’s left—and give them a chance to return.