Stop The Illegal Pet Trade Driving Spider Monkey Families To Death
Final signature count: 2,387
2,387 signatures toward our 30,000 goal
Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site
Spider monkeys are being gunned down in the wild so their babies can be sold online—every purchase fuels more killing, more suffering, and the slow extinction of one of Earth’s most intelligent primates.
Across the forests of southern Mexico, the sound of gunfire often signals more than hunting—it signals the destruction of a family. Poachers are shooting mother spider monkeys from treetops and ripping their infants from their arms to sell them into the illegal pet trade1. The babies, terrified and clinging to life, are sedated, bound, and stuffed into bags to be smuggled across the U.S. border, often hidden in vehicles or backpacks2.
Once inside the country, these infants are sold on social media platforms or in parking lot exchanges for thousands of dollars. Many buyers believe they’re saving an animal or purchasing a harmless pet. But what they’re actually funding is slaughter, suffering, and the slow extinction of an endangered species3.
From Forest to Border, a Trail of Cruelty
Investigators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have seized nearly 90 baby spider monkeys at the Texas-Mexico border in just 18 months—an alarming number that officials say represents only a fraction of those being trafficked1. Every infant taken from the wild leaves behind a shattered troop. Because spider monkeys give birth only every two to four years, populations cannot recover from the losses fast enough2.
The smuggling conditions are horrific. Monkeys are crammed into hidden compartments without food or water. Many die before reaching the border. Those who survive arrive injured, dehydrated, and terrified4. Rescuers in Texas and Mexico are overwhelmed, struggling to provide 24-hour care for traumatized babies that can never be returned to the wild.
Social Media Is Fueling the Demand
Viral videos showing spider monkeys in diapers or dressed like human babies have glamorized illegal ownership and helped create the demand driving this trade5. Each “cute” post hides a violent reality—the killing of mothers, the destruction of families, and the suffering of newborns stolen for entertainment. Law enforcement officials say the trade is expanding faster than they can stop it.
It’s Time to Act with Compassion and Resolve
We cannot look away while this brutality continues. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior have the power to strengthen enforcement, coordinate with international partners, and stop these crimes at their source. Expanding border inspections, cracking down on online wildlife sales, and increasing penalties for traffickers will protect both animals and ecosystems.
Every life taken weakens an already endangered species and erodes the compassion that defines us. Together, we can end this cycle of cruelty and ensure that spider monkeys remain where they belong—swinging free in the treetops, not confined in cages or screens.
Sign the petition now to call on U.S. officials to stop the poaching and smuggling of spider monkeys before it’s too late.
