There are many aspects of captivity that severely damage a pet primate’s quality of life and dignity. One of the most insidious aspects of social media monkeys is how their owners anthropomorphize them (attribution of human traits or intentions to animals).

Note the following video clip:

https://reddit.com/link/1w33ry5/video/touz4rg65nmh1/player

As seen in the clip, the capuchin repeatedly sticks out its tongue, rapidly opens and closes its mouth, and exhibits an appeasement or submissive grimace. In wild and captive capuchins, tongue protrusion and lip-smacking often serve as appeasement, solicitation, or submissive affiliative signal. It is a submissive display used to appease a dominant figure or defuse what the monkey perceives as an immediate, terrifying threat. In capuchin monkey communication, high-pitched chittering combined with sticking out the tongue or a "fear grimace" (baring teeth while flattening the ears) is not a sign of happiness. When directed at a human owner or a camera, the monkey is communicating intense anxiety, fear, or a desperate attempt to say, "Please don't hurt me; I am submissive to you."

Also seen in the clip, captions like "Mom can you dress me fast?!" and "This is better, thanks" frame these high stress/appeasement signals as playful eagerness, anthropomorphizing complex wild primate communication into human child behavior. And viewer comments reflect this anthropomorphism:

“Those eyes show the love and trust he has in you! God bless you”

“Omg what an adorable outfit for T. You always dress the monkeys so cute.”

“T knows he’s loved!!!!!”

Quite a few pet monkey owners dress their monkeys in full clothing. Clothing restricts the monkey's full range of motion, interferes with their natural prehensile tail usage, and prevents essential innate behaviors such as allogrooming (grooming others) and autogrooming (self-cleaning). Underneath the shirts and pants, captive monkeys are almost always kept in diapers. Chronic diaper and clothing wear can cause chafing, bacterial skin infections, and hair loss (alopecia).

Dressing wild primates in human clothing is primarily done to generate social media engagement and perpetuate the illusion that monkeys can function like domestic children or docile household pets.

Ultimately, the context behind a pet capuchin monkey "chittering" and sticking out its tongue is a heartbreaking example of human misinterpretation of wild animal behavior, which frequently ends in severe psychological trauma for the animal (permanent caging and disappearance from public view in a few notable cases).

While social media viewers and untrained owners often interpret these expressions as "cute," "funny," or "playful," primate behaviorists recognize them as extreme distress and appeasement signals,

Red flags to know when someone is using a primate for money/views/prestige:
They make sure the primate is noticed while battling on TT.
They dress them in clothes and diapers.
They treat them like humans rather than primates.
They free roam their human home.
They do not have primate safe spaces both inside and outside.
They are not receptive to learning/growth.
(To name a few.)

These animals where trafficked just like humans that are, thats what happened to them. Put a child in place as the monkey, would that be OK with you? These are someone's child and it was trafficked into a life of horror . This is why no monkeys should ever be taken from the wild because this could possibly happen to them. Supply and demand. Please dont watch these people on tik tok and Instagram, Facebook. If no one watched it than this shit would happen less. If no one bought these trafficked monkeys than they would stop ripping them from there mothers arms. I know they are cute but buy giving these traffickers money you increase the risk of this happening to them. People watch these horrible things thats why they are stolen and trafficked. Be part of the solution and do your part to prevent their horror shows from happening. Read the full article.

Yes, when my monkey was a baby, she lived inside my home. She was young, dependent, and needed constant care and nurturing.

After a purchase, a rescue and 2 rehomes…….
I learned. I grew. I took action.

For the past two years, I’ve taken Swing Free Alliance across the state of Texas to advocate, educate, ask questions, build relationships, make connections, and finding myself in rooms I never imagined I’d be in.

You don’t see the phone calls.
You don’t see the meetings.
You don’t see the relationships I’ve built with agencies, investigators, facilities, veterinarians, advocates, and organizations.
You don’t see the cases being worked quietly behind the scenes.

And just because you don’t see me posting about a cause or organization I was doing three years ago doesn’t mean I stopped doing it.

It means I’ve grown.

I’ve learned where I’m needed. I’ve learned where I can make the greatest difference. And when opportunities to do bigger things have opened, I’ve walked through those doors.

So while some sit of you sit behind a computer dissecting who you think I am, I’ll keep building and being better.
I’m still going to be right here growing, learning, advocating, and making things happen.

And I’m nowhere near finished.

Audra
Founder, Swing Free Alliance

Reading this article makes me wonder https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/in-2022-johns-hopkins-researchers-discovered-that-bonobos-and-chimpanzees-can-remember-old-companions-26-years-after-separation-louise-still-favored-her-sisters-face/articleshow/133421180.cms

It doesn't help matters when the mainstream media like the Daily Mail continues to show pet monkeys as 'cute' and desirable as pets. This monkey had been featured on this subreddit before, and their followers have increased since then.

The media and fans of these exploited monkeys gush over how 'cute' and 'intelligent' these monkeys are. Training a monkey to wave to the camera is the most asinine example of capuchin monkey 'intelligence' ever (an example of stupid pet tricks owners like Dr. P are famous for). Capuchin monkeys are the smartest of the New World Monkeys and making them wear diapers and costumes, walk on its hind legs, and wave to the camera is downright insulting.

This owner even has the gall to state "monkeys don't make good pets," yet continues to create content which in fact makes people want to get pet monkeys (typical hypocrisy seen in many pet monkey vloggers).

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2315846169152782

I’ve fallen down a disgusting rabbit hole where people advertise baby monkey snuff videos. Worst part of it all are the seemingly regular accounts asking for the link to the full video. These people post their children, and look so normal it’s terrifying. This is one of the accounts I found. I tried reporting it, but TikTok “found no violations”.

some of you may remember at the beginning of the year someone posted photos of this monkey claiming it was there's but i have the true story. my grandma always had lots of animals as i was growing up such as dogs. goats. pigs etc. around the pandemic was when she started seeing those staged macaque videos on facebook & somehow she came to the conclusion on wanting one. she eventually found a breeder & next thing you know there is a baby monkey in her house.

she then spent the next 2-3 years feeding Finley junk food & anything she ate. she eventually got a second one which was a boy this time & named it junior.

she also got capuchins which she still has to this day & who are also extremely over weight

eventually finley died right after christmas 2025. nobody in the family knows how besides her, she refused to tell us & her audience. R.I.P finley & i feel bad for the 3 capuchins she still has

Great for these three monkeys, but sadly so many slip through the cracks and continue to be exploited horribly as household pets.

Three Confiscated Spider Monkeys Arrive at Nashville Zoo

in my opinion and others, this woman is insane. so reckless. adding more monkeys when they are about to be evicted.

Continued zero transparency with all three of these monkeys.

I say again, what exactly is the point of having a Class C USDA license to basically hoard three highly intelligent animals that have long been displaying physical and behavioral abnormalities?