Abandoned monkey found in laundry bag on London bus

Animal welfare charities say marmoset could be ‘first of many’ since new law on primate licenses and microchipping

A “stressed and dehydrated” monkey has been found in a laundry bag on a London bus in what animal welfare charities warn could be the “first of many” abandonments now owners must obtain primate licenses.

The female common marmoset was discovered on a 302 bus waiting in Kensal Rise, north-west London, on Friday by a passenger whose buggy was obstructed by the bag containing the monkey in a cage. The monkey has since been named Oyster after the London transport payment system.

The bus driver contacted the RSPCA, which handled 238 reports of primate neglect and cruelty between 2021 and 2025.

New legislation passed in April mandated that all primates kept in England are licensed and microchipped. Owners who failed to obtain a license by 6 April risk an unlimited fine or jail.

Alison Cronin, the director of Monkey World and a contributor to the new legislation, said over the past decade “a lot of well-meaning people … have fallen victim to people on social media promoting these wild animals as good domestic pets”.

She said UK breeders were “making a killing” out of this misconception, though she welcomed the law change’s requirement for them to ensure they were only selling monkeys into homes with suitable environments.

Although a Born Free survey in January suggested there had been limited uptake of the new licensing system, Cronin said she had observed that many owners have since obtained licenses.

She said abandoned monkeys were “nothing new” and not necessarily a reflection of the law change. “These animals have been out there and subject to abuse and neglect for all of the years running up to this,” she said.

The driver and Metroline staff are aiding RSPCA inquiries to trace the person responsible for dumping the marmoset, which had not been microchipped.

Clare Dew, RSPCA London’s chief investigator, said Oyster’s abandonment “was clearly intentional”, and she suspected it was “a direct result of the new legislation”.

The “frightened marmoset” was well concealed in the bag, Dew said. “She’d been left with some apple but was, understandably, very stressed and dehydrated.”

Oyster is now healthy and living in a sanctuary with specialist primate facilities, where she “settled in really well over the weekend” and will be introduced to a male companion shortly.

Evie Button, a RSPCA exotic animals expert, described primates as “highly intelligent and social wild animals who need a lot of space, mental stimulation and appropriate companions – needs that can’t be met by human company alone”.

She added: “There is a real concern that keepers who cannot or do not want to license their pet may now instead abandon them.”

The government estimates that 5,000 primates are kept as pets in England.

Chris Lewis, the captivity research and policy manager at Born Free, called on local authorities and the government to raise greater awareness of the law change.

“Primates are complex, intelligent animals whose needs cannot be met when kept as a pet,” he said. “Although not the complete ban which experts and primatologists advocated for, the introduction of the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations represented an important step towards protecting privately kept primates, but their success depends on effective implementation and strict enforcement.”