DWA Primates and Zoos
Applying for a primate licence
From 6 April 2025, new regulations came into force for keeping primates.
This means that if you wish to keep a primate at your home, you will need to obtain a licence.
The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) Regulations 2024
The legislation brings in a licensing scheme, setting strict rules to ensure that only private keepers who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates.
Primate Keeper Licences
You will need a licence if you keep one or more primates, these include:
- Marmosets
- Tamarins
- Squirrel Monkeys
- Spider Monkeys
- Capuchin Monkeys
- Lemurs
- Lorisoids (also known as bush babies)
The only exemptions from the requirement to hold a licence under these regulations will be licensed zoos and medical / research facilities authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The regulations bring in a licensing scheme, setting strict rules to ensure that only those who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates.
Existing private primate keepers can apply for a primate licence from April 2025. From 6 April 2026, all private primate keepers and people proposing to keep a primate will be required to hold a licence, valid for a maximum of three years, and undergo reassessment to renew their permission to keep their animals.
After 6 April 2026, a person who requires a primate licence and keeps a primate in England without one, will be committing an offence under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and will be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term of up to six months, an unlimited fine or both.
After you apply for a licence, an inspection by a vet or other suitably qualified and experienced person will be arranged to check whether the licence conditions are likely to be met if the application were to be granted.
Following the inspection, if we are satisfied that the licence conditions are likely to be met, the application will be granted. If we are not satisfied, then the application must be refused.
Licences will normally be granted for a period of three years and will then expire.
Whilst it doesn’t become a legal requirement to hold a licence to keep primates until 6 April 2026, we would encourage all primate keepers to make their applications as early as possible to allow plenty of time for inspections to take place and for decisions to be made.
Any licences issued before 6 April 2026, will be granted to take effect from that date.
Apply for a licence to keep primates.
Guidance
The Secretary of State will shortly be publishing further statutory guidance on primate keeper licences. A link to this guidance will be made available from this page once it has been published.
Please check back soon for any changes or additional information.
What if I have information about a primate being kept in the area?
If you want to pass on any information or concerns about any primates that are currently being kept in the Wakefield Council area, please contact us by emailing animalhealth@wakefield.gov.uk.
Legislation
Summary
You’ll need a zoo licence if you’ll be displaying wild animals to the public for at least seven days a year, in any place that’s not a circus or pet shop. To receive a licence, you must be able to show that the zoo premises meet the specified criteria.
You are required to tell us at least two months prior to making an application. The notification is needed to specify certain information. It can be advertised in the public sections of certain newspapers. Planning permission will also be required for the zoo.
Following the initial notification and consultation process a formal application must be submitted.
We are obliged to consult with the Secretary of State during the application process and to discuss licence conditions.
The initial licence is valid for four years and upon renewal is valid for a six-year period.
Apply for a zoo licence
Applicant should contact us for further assistance and guidance relating to the application process.
Apply for a dangerous wild animals licence
Application can be made on the associated application form.
Standard conditions are not available, but details will be discussed as part of the application process. Conditions will cover the range of animal welfare issues, security of the animal and any specific requirements recommended from the inspection by a veterinary practitioner
Legislation
Summary
The keeping of certain species of wild animals is controlled by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 and require a licence.
These include for example certain wild species of cat, dogs, boar as well as primates and marsupials. Hybrid or cross-bred animals may need a licence, depending on how far removed the animal is from its wild ancestor.
A full list of animals is included on the associated download.
Contact Us
Environmental Health Wakefield Council Wakefield One PO Box 700 Burton Street Wakefield WF1 2EB