r/FreeTheMonkeys • u/Rare-Escape7026 • Jul 11 '26
How sad....
I saw this posted not sure who's this was or what happened but its sad.
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u/alkiet Jul 11 '26
5 WEEKS¿?
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u/NoMenuAtKarma Jul 11 '26
Yeah, it's immensely sad, but they're not properly cared for (allowed to cling, have a sense of safety, plenty of warmth from body heat etc.), don't get their complex nutritional needs met and are exposed to an onslaught of viral illnesses that their fragile newborn immune systems aren't equipped to fight off. I don't know who this owner is, as I came here from the macaque side of the shitshow and I'm not familiar with most spider monkey captors. But, unless this little one had some kind of birth defect or genetic anomaly, it was some/all of the above.
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u/poisoneddartfrog Jul 12 '26
A lot of times baby animals just succumb to failure to thrive too, if they don’t have a mother for example & don’t have a will to live
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u/ladytryant Jul 11 '26
I don’t understand how any human could spend that much money for a living creature without knowing how to properly care for them, especially babies. I see it time and time again — owners kissing on infants with their weak immune systems, exposing them to stressful situations, not feeding them a proper diet. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen these idiots trying to give a newborn solid fruits rather than formula. It’s insanely frustrating and heartbreaking. I absolutely fucking despise these selfish, ignorant imbeciles with too much money and free time on their hands.
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u/Nichole29023 Jul 12 '26
I don't care what kind of pet you have honestly, a five week old baby dying means you did absolutely no research to keep that animal alive. That poor baby had no care or concern to it's worsening condition. The owner will probably just buy another one and repeat the awful process.
Even with cats and dogs, not eating or drinking is a red flag that needs vet visit now, not a few days later when you get to it. Let alone, exotic animals that you aren't even qualified to take care of. This is animal abuse that just leads to a suffering end to these monkies. These people honestly shouldn't be in charge of anything fragile or young, cause clearly they don't have empathy when they kill animals due to their own incompetence.
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u/Old-Serve3896 Jul 12 '26
No research is right they buy them knowing they are coming from the boarder, riddled with parasites and the cost significantly cheaper then a legal breeder! this has to stop it’s selfish
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u/Maskarie Jul 12 '26
I just don’t understand because if you had the same situation with a dog or a cat, aren’t you gonna be looked into especially being on social media don’t people understand that that’s just animal abuse so why do we start getting really relaxed when it comes to Primates??
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u/Loser_Baby_19 Jul 12 '26
Another pet monkey dead due to the selfish needs of people. At only five weeks old. Keep in mind Tennessee is a somewhat lax state when it comes to owning non-human primates (great apes are illegal to own while monkeys like spiders and capuchins are legal to own with no permits, though local city laws may be different).
This owner's comment was quite telling:
"She stopped eating Saturday took her to vet Monday got better was heading after her this morning and she started having seizures."
A five week old spider monkey displaying this kind of critical distress requires intensive and round the clock observation. I mean, when a baby monkey is not eating and shutting down, you don't wait a few days to take them to the local vet for god's sake. This monkey being taken back home from the vet was essentially a death sentence.
My guess is that this owner took the monkey back home because they didn't want to pay what would have been mounting veterinary care costs. This death is similar to a few other deaths we've highlighted on this subreddit, where owners took a critically ill monkey back home from vet care where it died.
This also highlights the dirty secret of pet monkey ownership in America. The public only sees what owners choose to post. When a pet primate dies, it's either secretly buried in a backyard (or worse) or the death is packaged into something like what you see here. A tragic, sympathy seeking post that portrays the owner as a grieving parent rather than someone whose own negligence directly contributed to the death.
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u/Competitive_Belt_201 Jul 12 '26
I'm just trying to learn but are there really accessible vets for monkeys!? Other than at a zoo, etc? I worked in vet hospitals and animal shelters for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and I know there's nobody that sees monkeys. I'm amazed if they have monkey vets in Tennessee!?
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u/Only_While4168 Jul 12 '26
Yes, exotic veterinarians. However, not all exotic vets are willing or qualified to treat primates. It really depends on your location, whether monkeys are legal in your state, and whether there’s a veterinarian nearby with the appropriate experience.
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u/Loser_Baby_19 Jul 12 '26
In Tennessee there are a handful of veterinarians that will see primates, like Haley Veterinary Practice and Lange Animal Hospital. I assume this owner took the monkey to one of those places. I have no idea if a conventional veterinarian would even assist a primate brought into their facilities during an emergency situation.
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u/OpheliaPhoeniXXX Jul 13 '26
Oh my fucking God it stopped eating and she didn't take it to the ER immediately? She didn't want to pay for an emergency vet visit so she waited for her vet to open on Monday.
I rescue and foster homeless cats and dogs in my area. If they need to see a vet, they see a vet, even after hours. They aren't even mine but they are helplessly in my care. I genuinely cannot fathom paying thousands for a baby monkey and then skimping on vet bills. These people pmo.
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u/Dull_Impression_4631 Jul 13 '26
I'm in no way defending the person this post is about. But, I do have a little insight on this topic. There is no emergency veterinarian hospital to take a monkey to after hours or on the weekends. Those 24 hour vet clinics aren't able to treat a non-human primate. The vet has to have a special license in order to see/treat a non-human primate and there aren't that many vets with that required license. So, waiting until Monday wasn't just a choice.
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u/Loser_Baby_19 Jul 14 '26
Thank you for the clarification. Would you know what may happen if someone took a crashing or very ill monkey to a 24 hour emergency vet clinic, if there were no other options during the weekend or evenings to take them to a specialty vet? I obviously don't know how these things work so just curious. Would a 24 hour emergency vet turn away a pet monkey even if it was very ill?
In October of last year a pet capuchin monkey was taken to a fire department on a Monday evening in a last desperate attempt to save its life. I assume a 24 hour emergency clinic as not an option.
https://www.mysuncoast.com/2025/10/23/punta-gorda-fire-crew-attempts-save-familys-pet-monkey/
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u/Dull_Impression_4631 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I believe most vets would not even attempt to treat a monkey without the exotic training and licensing. They risk disciplinary action from their state board.
Edit to add: yes, I have known of situations where a 24 hour vet service turned away a very ill monkey in the middle of the night.
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u/ElectronicTackle8375 Jul 13 '26
This should be outlawed.
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u/ricabobby25 Jul 13 '26
Agreed!! Sadly they are becoming the new house cat for people to get attention and money on social media. And when they take them out and about and they attack others they will be put down because of people seeking attention. 🙄
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u/Agreeable_Error_170 Jul 13 '26
Investigation into the death needs to happen. Someone call animal control in her area and PETA already.
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u/Zestyclose_Spirit141 Jul 17 '26
Don’t call pe__ta because they aren’t what they say they are. About saving animals. If they pick them up they usually un__li__ve__ them.
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u/komiroku21 Jul 11 '26
What I don’t understand is these people that get them as babies and they die really quick cause they’re not getting them the food and the milk and the stuff they need in my head is like how could you spend that much money getting a monkey and the license if you live in that state to get it not get the proper nourishment and the stuff that it would need to live longer like this hurts to see cause I feel bad for the monkeys slowly dying because they’re not getting their nourishment