Disturbing Animal Trafficking in Texas: Baby Monkeys Found in Terrible Conditions

Drugs are not the only thing being smuggled over the Texas border. The illegal pet trade is also booming as baby Mexican Spider Monkeys are taken from their natural habitat and smuggled into the Lone Star State.

The South Texas Zoo is dealing with the consequences of other’s actions as they are now caring for around 20 infant spider monkeys that were seized from smugglers at border crossing.

The monkeys are taken from their mothers, the mother typically killed in the process, and are stuffed into backpacks, hidden in vehicles, and any other means to get them over the border. These monkeys are already deemed endangered according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and these practices are only making this worse.

The monkeys currently under the care of the South Texas Zoo are also riddled with diseases and parasites.

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These monkeys are being brought into Texas to sell for upwards of $8,000 a piece as people want them to keep as pets.

Dr. Pat Burchfield, the zoo's executive director and CEO, told MySA:

“Historically, when we saw a pulse of 3 to 5 that would get confiscated, it meant they were clearing a major forest, but these kinds of numbers are unprecedented. It is a direct artifact of the illegal wildlife trafficking."

The zoo staff is doing everything they can to care for these monkeys, doing their best to ensure their survival. Burchfield emphasizes that these animals are not to be kept as pets as they are wild animals and can become aggressive towards their owners as they mature.

While there is not much that can be done to stop this smuggling from happening, attempted smugglers will continue to be investigated and prosecuted under wildlife statutes and related offenses, these traffickers can face fines, penalties, and imprisonment for their contribution to the illegal pet trade.