Blame it on Crystal! Monkey film star sparks new craze
She has sparked a sometimes cruel tend – with 1,200 of the animals now being kept as pets in the UK. Sanchez Manning investigates
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Your support makes all the difference.She is Crystal, the sparky capuchin monkey star of Night at the Museum and a host of Hollywoodmovies. But she has, inadvertently, sparked an epidemic of cruelty to thousands of monkeys which are forced to live trapped in cages where their minds and bodies slowly decay.
Crystal's film career began in 1997, when she played a baby monkey alongside Brendan Fraser in Disney's Tarzan spoof, George of the Jungle.
But it was the hit Night at the Museum, in which she co-starred with Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais, which made the small, furry actor – or at least her Dexter character – a household name in 2006.
She has since landed plum roles in the 2009 sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and We Bought a Zoo with Matt Damon.
She stole the show once again last year, appearing as a drug-dealing monkey in the franchise sequel The Hangover II.
She is now set to star in the upcoming NBC sitcom Animal Practice, which will earn her a reported $12,000 per episode and make her one of the highest-paid actors on American TV.
But animal charities say Crystal's success and popularity is fuelling the latest pet craze.
Brooke Aldrich, the campaign manager of Wild Futures, a primate sanctuary in Cornwall, said films and TV shows have prompted a jump in inquiries from people wanting to own or adopt capuchin monkeys: "The most notable one is the Night at the Museum because the monkey is named Dexter and when the kids come into the sanctuary they say, 'Oh, it's Dexter'.
"You have people who think it's cool to keep a monkey – so there's a certain amount of status involved in it."
Wild Futures believes that the number of capuchins being kept privately in the UK stands at anything between 400 and 1,200, and this figure is thought to have climbed since 2009.
In all, an estimated 7,500 monkeys are kept in cages by private owners. It is illegal to keep the creatures as pets without first obtaining a Dangerous Wild Animals licence from a local authority.
Ms Aldrich said many people who buy capuchins know little about what is involved in looking after them and a high number do not bother to obtain a licence.
"There are very, very few people who keep monkeys who intend to do any harm," she added. "But if you don't know what a monkey needs, then you can do a whole lot of harm without realising it."
She stressed that monkeys are social creatures who need to be able to roam free with their own kind.
Joey, a capuchin monkey, was saved by Wild Futures after it was found abandoned in a flat in Hampstead, north London, where it had been kept in a 4ft by 6ft cage for nine years.
The diminutive primate was in a terrible physical and psychological state: it could barely move because of a crippling bone disease and rocked back and forth all day.
Still seriously disabled, it is making good progress under the care of Wild Futures staff.
In July, its future was assured when the broadcaster Stephen Fry stepped in to adopt it.
Introducing those other exotic pets
British giant rabbits
What are they? Earlier this year one of their species was named the biggest bunny in the word, weighing in at three-and-a-half stone
Upside Usually docile and happy to be handled
Downside Need a lot of space
Famous fans Demi Moore and Amanda de Cadenet
Pygmy hedgehogs
What are they? Domesticated versions of their wild cousins. They cost around £150 and one pet shop reported a year-long waiting list for the creatures
Upside At 12oz to 18oz, they're small enough to fit in egg cups
Downside Prone to illness and quick deaths
Famous fans Popular among WAGs (yes, really!)
Miniature dogs
What are they? Chihuahuas, pugs, bichons frisés. Last year, 400 handbag dogs were dumped with animal charities
Upside Heart-melting furry balls of cuteness
Downside Being carried around in a bag all day can be stressful for a dog
Famous fans Paris Hilton, Britney Spears
Red-eared slider
What are they? A semi-aquatic turtle that became the pet of choice when it emerged the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were specimens of the species
Upside They make children happy
Downside They are aggressive and like to chomp their way through fellow pond life
Famous fans Vanilla Ice
Micro pigs
What are they? They cost £700 each and weigh just 9oz at birth. They are the size of a tea cup and are easy to toilet train
Upside Cute
Downside They often grow into full-size pigs weighing up to 200kgs
Famous fans Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint
Pet monkeys
What are they? Marmosets, lemurs and capuchins are the most popular choice for primate pets in Britain
Upside Adorable and can been cuddled like babies while young
Downside Very expensive – £7,000 – and can inflict nasty attacks as adults
Famous fans Michael Jackson
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