CAMPAIGNERS are hopeful changes will be made to the laws around keeping monkeys as pets after a 110,000-strong petition was handed in.

Dr Alison Cronin, director of rescue centre Monkey World, took the petition to Number 10 Downing Street and togetherwith Genesis rock star, Peter Gabriel and South Dorset MP Richard Drax handed it in to the government.

The petition, bearing 110,764 signatures, demands new welfare standards for primates. The aim of the petition is to ensure that all monkeys kept as pets in private homes would be guaranteed a standard of care, which is already mandatory in British zoos and wildlife parks.

Fifty monkeys have been rescued by Monkey World from the pet trade in the last five years. The rescue centre is now full and has a waiting list for spaces.

There are 66 species of monkey that do not currently require a licence or special registration to be kept as pets.

Dr Cronin said: “I have been discussing with Richard Drax the ongoing, chronicproblems that Monkey World is facing with monkeys coming to us from the British pet trade - it is overwhelming.

“With our petition receiving so much support from the British public and Richard, we are hopeful that changes can be made that protect the monkeys involved in this trade as well as the people who are being misled when purchasing them.”

During the last parliament Mr Drax served as a member of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, which oversees treatment of animals in captivity.

He said: “The back bench business committee is obliged to consider all petitions bearing more than 100,000 signatures for a Parliamentary debate.

“What we want is to get the matter raised in Parliament as a first step to changing the law.

“Dr Cronin has done a remarkable job in raising our awareness of the plight of these animals. Most are traded by unscrupulous dealers. Tragically, buyers, although overwhelmingly well-meaning, lack the specialist knowledge to care for them.”

Mr Drax added: “It is astonishing in this day and age that it is entirely legal to buy any primate and keep it at home, without any expert supervision. It is time to change the law and I will make every effort to ensure we do so.

“Primates are our closest relatives on the evolutionary tree. We must treat them with the respect they deserve.”