Wild Futures

Extracts from For Pepito:

It was damp and dark inside and if someone appeared in the doorway there was nowhere to escape to. Anyway the chain on his neck didn't let him go far. But he preferred being outside and sometimes when a group of humans appeared at the fence he could keep very still beside the shed and they didn't even see him. He only ever saw humans now and the memory of his own kind had faded.

...

The little creature didn't remember that day seven years before when at the age of only eight months he had been torn from his mother's arms. That was the last he had seen of his social group. Probably they had been killed, although Pepito could have no concept of that.

If that action sealed the monkey's fate, what's the alternative for the former pet?

There are a number of primate rescue centres in the UK but as you'll have gathered the one I know best, and trust, and who Born Free support, is the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall. They know and respect all of the residents and emphasise their psychological as well as physical well-being. This was the sort of thing Emma in my story thought about. She wanted Pepito to be returned to the wild, but if not that she wanted him to be with people who would know what baggage he carried.

And such baggage the capuchins take with them... Tanya, Mickey and Jackie lived for ten years in a converted garage. Mr Monkey spent five years on his own in a converted aviary. Coco and Chanel were kept in a caravan. Joey was taken from the wild as a tiny baby and spent the next nine years on his own in a tiny cage, never going outside. His bones didn't form properly and he has been left with permanent disabilities.

On arrival they have a full medical check and gradually, at their own pace, are given the chance to learn how to be monkeys.

In addition to providing a home for life for all the individuals they take in, Wild Futures supports various projects in Latin America, covering primate rehabilitation, conservation and environmental education for habitat protection - and, crucially, campaigns against the pet trade. The editors of Gentle Footprints have provided a link to their website in the bit at the end of my story, but here's a sneak preview of that:

http://www.wildfutures.org/support-our-campaign

http://www.monkeysanctuary.org/

You could treat yourself to a mug or packet of wild flower seeds from the online shop - or even adopt a gorgeous clever capuchin monkey for only £3 a month!

Next week: Richard Adams' Week of the Leopard.