Tamarins are considered highly endangered in the wild yet they are an increasingly popular pet amongst those who wish to purchase a NHP (Non-Human Primate).
Do you want to help save the Tamarins? Why not adopt one as a pet? Here's the pros and cons:
Do you want to help save the Tamarins? Why not adopt one as a pet? Here's the pros and cons:
Captive bred Tamarins can be hugely rewarding pets and can form a real bond with their owner that will be cherished for many years. The rewards of owning one can be manifold. The real question is not whether this is the right pet for you. The real question is whether or not you are the right owner.
http://therealowner.com/exotic-unusual/the-tamarin-petting-as-preservation/
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.
Sadly only the future of the captive Tamarin is 100% assured. The poverty of those people living in its habitat has meant that the illegal pet trade has profited, but just as much harm has been done to the local populations of the species by deforestation as anything else. Plus, the good old plastic bag, strewn with abandon by settlers in those areas, has killed many - imagine, it only weighs a pound. A lot of projects have been started (including one which collects the plastic bags from the forest and makes them in to long lasting and durable shopping bags by combining hundreds in to a single bag structure then to be sold on)but many beliee it to be too little too late.
We have to be pragmatic. Captive Tamarins may one day be used to revitalize and reinvigorate a stock in the wild with declining genetic viability. However if they do not have a 'wild' in which to live (another issue but inextricably bound to the fate of this species) then where do they go?
Sorry folks, this has raised as many questions as it does answers...
I can honestly say I support the domestication of all animals... I think of it as a different way to live in harmony with them. Other wise we WILL end up killing all of them off.