Are monkeys protected animals? Understanding the relevant legal provisions

Monkeys are a kind of higher animal, generally seen when visiting national zoos or well-known scenic spots. Monkeys have very bad tempers, and if you are not careful, they will rush up to you looking for food. So are monkeys protected animals?

1. Are monkeys protected animals?

Monkeys are protected animals, and most are second-class protected animals. The state does not allow private buying and selling. Among them, the national first-class protected species include the golden snub-nosed monkey, the slow loris, the Assamese macaque, the Taiwan macaque (Taiwan, China), the pig-tailed macaque, the langur, and the gibbon. The national second-class protected species include the stump-tailed macaque, the rhesus macaque, and the Tibetan macaque. Under normal circumstances, individuals cannot keep them, but if you obtain a "Wild Animal Breeding and Reproduction License" from the local forestry bureau, you may keep monkeys below the national second-class protection level.

2. Which monkeys are under state protection?

1. National first-class protected monkeys

(1) Golden snub-nosed monkey: There are 6 species of golden snub-nosed monkey, namely the Myanmar golden snub-nosed monkey, the Nujiang golden snub-nosed monkey, the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, the Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, the Guizhou golden snub-nosed monkey, and the Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkey. Except for the Myanmar golden snub-nosed monkey and the Vietnamese golden snub-nosed monkey, all are precious animals endemic to China. It is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1——Endangered, and is also a national first-class protected animal.

(2) Slow loris: The slow loris is a kind of monkey under the genus Nycticebus in the order Primates, with 9 subspecies. It is relatively small in size and slow in movement, and is a relatively lower kind of monkey. It lives in tropical rainforests and subtropical monsoon forests, lives entirely in trees, rarely comes down to the ground, and likes to move about alone. Its movements are especially slow, and only speed up when it is attacked, so it is also called the “lazy loris”. It is distributed in Yunnan and southern Guangxi, and mostly in Southeast Asia. It is a national first-class protected animal.

(3) Assamese macaque: The Assamese macaque is a kind of monkey under the genus Macaca in the order Primates. Its body size is similar to that of the rhesus macaque. It mainly lives in monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests, or alpine dark coniferous forests. It mainly feeds on wild fruits and fresh twigs and tender leaves of plants, and also eats some insects, amphibians, and small birds.

(4) Taiwan macaque: The Taiwan macaque is endemic to China. Its body shape closely resembles the rhesus macaque, but its body is grayer and its tail is darker. Their tails all exceed half of their body length, though the Taiwan macaque's tail is proportionally somewhat longer, and it is also smaller and fatter than the rhesus macaque. It lives among rock walls and mountain forests, is a semi-terrestrial animal, feeds on various wild fruits, leaves, and insects, and sometimes also steals grain and melons and fruits from farmers.

(5) Pig-tailed macaque: The pig-tailed macaque has a body length of 54-62 cm. It is relatively stocky, with a flat top of the head and radiating dark brown crown hair. It lives in tropical and subtropical forests or in lower-altitude coniferous forests, is arboreal, likes to live in groups, feeds on plant fruits, and also preys on insects and small birds.

(6) Langur: China has 6 species of langurs, namely the black langur, the white-headed langur, the long-tailed langur, the Phayre's langur, the capped langur, and the white-rumped langur, all of which are national first-class protected animals of China. It originated in Europe, and its ancestors went from Europe through Africa to Asia, first entering Southeast Asia, and then along river valleys or lowlands into the subtropical forests with tropical karst landforms in South China and Southwest China, that is, surviving and reproducing in its current distribution area and forming dominant populations.

(7) Gibbon: The gibbon is a national first-class protected animal. It is named for its long forearms, has 44 chromosomes, is the smallest kind of ape, and is also one of the fastest and most agile in movement. Together with the three kinds of orangutans, it is called one of the “four great apes”. There are currently 7 species in the world, and China has 5 species of gibbons, namely the lar gibbon, the hoolock gibbon, the Hainan black-crested gibbon, the black gibbon, and the white-cheeked gibbon.

2. National second-class protected monkeys

(1) Stump-tailed macaque: The stump-tailed macaque, also called the red-faced macaque, is a relatively large kind of macaque. It lives in primary broad-leaved forests, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests, or bamboo forest zones at 1500-3000 m. Its diet is rather omnivorous, feeding on wild fruits, leaves, and bamboo shoots, and also preying on small animals such as crabs and frogs. The stump-tailed macaque is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2013 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1——Vulnerable (VU), is also listed in CITES Appendix II of the Washington Convention, and is also a second-class protected animal of China.

(2) Rhesus macaque: The rhesus macaque has a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, and all kinds of forests. It mainly lives in dense forests or sparse forested rocky hills on stone mountain cliffs, beside streams and gullies, and along riverbanks, and lives in groups. It forms large groups of a dozen or even several hundred. It feeds on leaves, tender twigs, wild vegetables, and so on, and also eats small birds, bird eggs, and various insects, and preys on other small animals. The rhesus macaque is listed as a national second-class protected animal in China's "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals", listed as a vulnerable species in the "China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals·Mammals", and listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2008 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1——Least Concern (LC).

(3) Tibetan macaque: The Tibetan macaque is the largest species in the genus Macaca in China. It lives in rocky habitats in mountainous broad-leaved forest areas, lives in groups, formed of 10 or so or 20-30 individuals. Each group has 2-3 adult male monkeys as leaders, and when encountering enemies, the leaders guard at the rear of the line. It likes to move on the ground and spends the night in cliff crevices, on steep cliffs, or in large trees. It feeds on the leaves, buds, fruits, and branches of various plants as well as bamboo shoots, and also eats birds, bird eggs, insects, and other animal-based food. The Tibetan macaque is listed as a second-class protected animal in China's "List of National Key Protected Animals", and is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2013 Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1——Near Threatened (NT).

In short, monkeys are state-protected animals, and buying and selling or individual keeping is prohibited. However, if you obtain a "Wild Animal Breeding and Reproduction License", you can still keep those below the second-class protection level.