The international trade in night monkeys (Aotus spp.), found throughout Central and South America, has been regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1975. We present a quantitative analysis of this trade from all 9 range countries, over 4 decades, and compare domestic legislation to CITES regulations. Night monkeys were exported from 8 of the 9 habitat countries, totalling 5,968 live individuals and 7,098 specimens, with trade of live individuals declining over time. In terms of species, the most commonly traded was Aotus nancymaae (present in Brazil, Colombia, Peru) followed by A. vociferans (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) and A. zonalis (Colombia, Panama). There was no significant correlation between levels of trade and species' geographic range size or the number of countries in which a species occurs. Five countries have legislation that meets CITES requirements for implementation, whereas the other 4 countries' legislation showed deficiencies. Research conducted in Colombia, Peru, and Brazil suggests significant cross-border trade not captured in official international trade registers. Although international trade has diminished, current trends suggest that populations of rarer species may be under unsustainable pressure. Further research is needed to quantify real trade numbers occurring between habitat countries.

Keywords:
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Douroucoulis, Malaria research, Neotropics, Owl monkeys, Domestic legislation, Aotus
1.
Altherr S (2007). Going to Pot: The Neotropical Bushmeat Crisis and Its Impact on Primate Populations. Munich, Care for the Wild & Pro Wildlife.
2.
Alves RRN, Souto WMS, Barboza RRD (2010). Primates in traditional folk medicine: a world overview. Mammal Review 40: 155-180.
3.
Aquino R, Terrones W, Navarro R, Terrones C, Cornejo FM (2009). Caza y estado de conservación de primates en la cuenca del Río Itaya, Loreto, Perú. Revista Peruana de Biología 15: 33-39.
4.
Argentina (1982). Ley 22344 Convención sobre el comercio internacional de especies amenazadas de fauna y flora silvestres. Buenos Aires, Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable.
5.
Bailey J (2005). Non-human primates in medical research and drug development: a critical review. Biogenic Amines 19: 235-255.
6.
Bloor P, Ibáñez C, Arciniegas S, Hoyos M, Hernández S, Pedraza L (2012). Informe final del convenio de cooperación científica y tecnológica No 10F del 15 de diciembre de 2011 entre el Fondo Nacional Ambiental - FONAM, la Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Instituto de Genética - IGUN, el Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas - SINCHI y la Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Sur de la Amazonia - CORPOAMAZONIAR. Bogotá, Instituto de Genética, Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
7.
Blundell AG, Mascia MB (2005). Discrepancies in reported levels of international wildlife trade. Conservation Biology 19: 2020-2025.
8.
Bolivia (1992). Ley No 1333. Ley de 27 de Abril de 1992. http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/bol6919.pdf (accessed September 5, 2016).
9.
Brazil (1967). Lei Federal No 5.197, de 03 de janeiro de 1967. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L5197.htm (accessed July 27, 2016).
10.
Brazil (1998). Lei Federal No 9.605, de 12 de fevereiro de 1998. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L9605.htm (accessed July 27, 2016).
11.
Brazil (2000). Decreto No 3.607, de 21 de setembro de 2000. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/D3607.htm (accessed July 27, 2016).
12.
Butchart SM, Barnes R, Davies CWN, Fernandez M, Seddon N (1995). Observations of two threatened primates in the Peruvian Andes. Primate Conservation 16: 15-19.
13.
Ceballos-Mago N, González CE, Chivers DJ (2010). Impact of the pet trade on the Margarita capuchin monkey Cebus apella margaritae.Endangered Species Research 12: 57-68.
14.
CITES (2012). Informes sobre las medidas adoptadas por los representantes regionales e información complementaria de las Partes, relevantes para la cooperación regional y la labor del Comité de Fauna (AC26 Doc. 27.3). https://cites.org/common/com/ac/26/S26-27-03.pdf (accessed June 20, 2016).
15.
CITES (2014). Amazon countries join efforts against illegal wildlife trade. https://goo.gl/CnJAgb (accessed April 1, 2016).
16.
CITES (2016a). National laws for implementing the Convention. https://cites.org/eng/legislation (accessed September 6, 2016).
17.
CITES (2016b). Member countries. https://cites.org/eng/disc/parties/index.php (accessed March 21, 2016).
18.
Collins WE (1994). The owl monkey as a model for malaria. In Aotus: The Owl Monkey (Baer JF, Weller RE, Kakoma I, eds.), pp 217-244. San Diego, Academic Press.
19.
Cormier L (2006). A preliminary review of Neotropical primates in subsistence and symbolism of indigenous lowland South American people. Ecological and Environmental Anthropology 2: 14-32.
20.
Cornejo FM, Aquino R, Jimenez C (2008). Notes on the natural history, distribution and conservation status of the Andean night monkey, Aotus miconax Thomas, 1927. Primate Conservation 23: 1-4.
21.
Corpoamazonia (2016). Resolución 0993. Por la cual se resuelve solicitud de inclusión de la especie Aotus nancymaae dentro del actual permiso de investigación “Proyecto de captura y estudio de investigación científica en diversidad biológica de primates en la cuenca del Río Amazonas en el trapecio amazónico colombiano,” mediante Resolución 0028 del 13 de mayo de 2010, y sus modificatorias 623 del 29 de mayo de 2010 y 042 del 25 de enero de 2011. Leticia, Corpoamazonia.
22.
Defler TR, Bueno ML (2007). Aotus diversity and the species problem. Primate Conservation 22: 55-70.
23.
De Souza Fialho M, Ludwig G, Valença-Montenegro MM (2016). Legal international trade in live Neotropical primates originating from South America. Primate Conservation 30: 1-6.
24.
Dorfler M, Aragón C (2011). Amazonian Strategic Cooperation Agenda. Brasilia, Amazonian Cooperation Treaty Organization.
25.
Duarte-Quiroga A, Estrada A (2003). Primates as pets in Mexico City: an assessment of the species involved, source of origin, and general aspects of treatment. American Journal of Primatology 61: 53-60.
26.
Estrada A, Garber PA, Rylands AB, Roos C, Fernandez-Duque E, Di Fiore A, Nekaris KAI, Nijman V, Heymann EW, Lambert JE, Rovero F, Barelli C, Setchell JM, Gillespie TR, Mittermeier RA, Arregoitia LV, de Guinea M, Gouveia S, Dobrovolski R, Shanee S, Shanee N, Boyle SA, Fuentes A, MacKinnon KC, Amato KR, Meyer ALS, Wich S, Sussman RW, Pan R, Kone I, Li B (2017). Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: why primates matter. Science Advances, in press.
27.
Fernandez-Duque E, Corley MK, Spence-Aizenberg A (2013). Aotidae (night monkeys). In Handbook of the Mammals of the World (Mittermeier RA, Rylands AB, Wilson DE, eds.), pp 414-431. Barcelona, Lynx Edicions/Conservation International/IUCN.
28.
FIDIC - Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (2015). Solicitud de aclaración y/o corrección en relación al concepto técnico SAA-017 de 2015. Bogotá, FIDIC.
29.
Galinski MR, Barnwell JW (2012). Nonhuman primate models for human malaria research. In Nonhuman Primates in Biomedical Research: Diseases (Abee CR, Mansfield K, Tardif S, Morris T, eds.), pp 299-323. San Diego, Academic Press.
30.
Gaston KJ (2003). The Structure and Dynamics of Geographic Ranges. Oxford, Oxford University Press on Demand.
31.
Goldman E (1914). Description of new mammals from Panama. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 63: 1-7.
32.
Gómez JU (2015). Ley Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre No 29763. Quito, Minesterio de Agricultura, Direccion General Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre.
33.
Gozalo A, Montoya E (1990). Reproduction of the owl monkey (Aotus nancymai) in captivity. American Journal of Primatology 21: 61-68.
34.
Groves C (2001). Primate Taxonomy. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press.
35.
Groves C (2005). The taxonomy of primates in the laboratory context. In The Laboratory Primate - Definition of the Primate Model (Wolfe-Coote S, ed.), pp 3-15. San Diego, Academic Press.
36.
Herrera S, Perlaza BL, Bonelo A, Arevalo-Herrera M (2002). Aotus monkeys: their great value for anti-malaria vaccines and drug testing. International Journal for Parasitology 32: 1625-1635.
37.
Hershkovitz P (1983). Two new species of night monkeys, genus Aotus (Cebidae, Platyrrhini): a preliminary report on Aotus taxonomy. American Journal of Primatology 4: 209-243.
38.
Hofmann W, Schubert D, LaBonte J, Munson L, Gibson S, Scammell J, Ferrigno P, Sodroski J (1999). Species-specific, postentry barriers to primate immunodeficiency virus infection. Journal of Virology 73: 10020-10028.
39.
IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature (2008). Aotus spp. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-1. http://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed July 12, 2016).
40.
Knight A (2008). Systematic reviews of animal experiments demonstrate poor contributions toward human healthcare. Reviews of Recent Clinical Trials 3: 89-96.
41.
Levacov D, Jerusalinsky L, Fialho MS (2011). Levantamento dos primatas recebidos em Centros de Triagem e sua relação com o tráfico de animais silvestres no Brasil. In A primatologia no Brasil (Melo FR, Mourthé I, eds.), vol 11, pp 281-305. Belo Horizonte, Sociedade Brasileira de Primatologia.
42.
Linder JMS, Sawyer SC, Brashares JS (2013). Primates in trade. In Primate Ecology and Conservation - A Handbook of Techniques (Sterling EJ, Bynum N, Blair ME, eds.), pp 323-345. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
43.
Lizarralde M (2002). Ethnology of monkeys among the Barí of Venezuela: perceptions, use and conservation. In Primates Face to Face: The Conservation Implications of Human-Nonhuman Primate Interconnections (Fuentes A, Wolfe LD, eds.), pp 85-100. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
44.
Mace GM (2004). The role of taxonomy in species conservation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 359: 711-719.
45.
Mack D, Mittermeier RA (1984). The International Primate Trade,Vol 1: Legislation, Trade and Captive Breeding. Washington, TRAFFIC USA, WWF-US Primate Program, IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group.
46.
MADS - Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (2012). Estrategia Nacional para la Prevención y Control del Tráfico Ilegal de Especies Silvestres: Avances en su Implementación, Plan de Acción 2012-2020. https://goo.gl/m23lZp (accessed June 21, 2016).
47.
Málaga CA, Weller RE, Buschbom RL, Baer JF, Kimsey BB (1997). Reproduction of the owl monkey (Aotus spp.) in captivity. Journal of Medical Primatology 26: 147-152.
48.
Maldonado AM (2012). Hunting by Tikunas in the Southern Colombian Amazon. Assessing the Impact of Subsistence Hunting by Tikunas on Game Species in Amacayacu National Park, Colombian Amazon. Saarbrücken, Lambert Academic Publishing.
49.
Maldonado AM, Peck MR (2014). Research and in situ conservation of owl monkeys enhances environmental law enforcement at the Colombian-Peruvian border. American Journal of Primatology 76: 658-669.
50.
Maldonado AM, Nijman V, Bearder SK (2009). Trade in night monkeys Aotus spp. in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru tri-border area: international wildlife trade regulations are ineffectively enforced. Endangered Species Research 9: 143-149.
51.
Marzal A (2012). Recent advances in studies on avian malaria parasites. In Malaria Parasites (Okwa OO, ed.), pp 135-158. Rijeka, InTech.
52.
Mena VP, Stallings JR, Regalado JB, Cueva RL (2000). The sustainability of current hunting practices by the Huaorani. In Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests (Robinson JG, Bennett EL, eds.), pp 57-78. New York, Columbia University Press.
53.
Ministerio Del Ambiente (2011). Libro IV de la biodiversidad. Control de cacerías y vedas de especies de fauna silvestre. Quito, Ministerio del Ambiente. http://www.ambiente.gob.ec/sites/default/files/users/mponce/libroIV_TIII.pdf.
54.
Mittermeier RA, Konstant WR, Mast RB (1994). Use of Neotropical and Malagasy primate species in biomedical research. American Journal of Primatology 34: 73-80.
55.
MMAyA - Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua (2013). Plan de acción para la conservación de mamíferos amenazados. La Paz, PGD Impresiones.
56.
MMAyA - Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua (2015). Plan de acción para la conservación de especies amenazadas de vertebrados en el Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (2015-2020). La Paz, PGD Impresiones.
57.
MMAyA - Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua (2016). Informe bienal 2014-2015. Estado plurinacional de Bolivia. Report for CITES.
58.
Nekaris KAI, Bearder SK (2011). The lorisiform primates of Asia and mainland Africa. In Primates in Perspective (Campbell CJ, Fuentes A, MacKinnon KC, Bearder SK, Stumpf RM, eds.), pp 34-54, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
59.
Nekaris KAI, Jaffe S (2007). Unexpected diversity of slow lorises (Nycticebus spp.) within the Javan pet trade: implications for slow loris taxonomy. Contributions to Zoology 76: 187-196.
60.
Nekaris KAI, Nijman V (2013). The ethics of conducting field research - do long-term great ape field studies help to conserve primates? In Ethics in the Field (Macclancy J, Fuentes A, eds.), pp 108-123. New York, Berghahn Books.
61.
Nekaris KAI, Shepherd CR, Starr CR, Nijman V (2010). Exploring cultural drivers for wildlife trade via an ethnoprimatological approach: a case study of slender and slow lorises (Loris and Nycticebus) in South and Southeast Asia. American Journal of Primatology 72: 877-886.
62.
Nijman V, Healy A (2016). Present-day international primate trade in historical context. In An Introduction to Primate Conservation (Wich SA, Marshall AJ, eds.), pp 129-142. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
63.
Nijman V, Nekaris KAI (2014). Traditions, taboos and trade in slow lorises in Sudanese communities in southern Java, Indonesia. Endangered Species Research 25: 79-88.
64.
Nijman V, Shepherd CR (2010). The role of Asia in the global trade in CITES II-listed poison arrow frogs: hopping from Kazakhstan to Lebanon to Thailand and beyond. Biodiversity and Conservation 19: 1963-1970.
65.
Nijman V, Nekaris KAI, Donati G, Burford M, Fa J (2011). Primate conservation: measuring and mitigating trade in primates. Endangered Species Research 13: 159-161.
66.
Nijman V, Spaan D, Rode-Margono EJ, Wirdateti W, Nekaris KAI (2016). Changes in the primate trade in Indonesian wildlife markets over a 25-year period: fewer apes and langurs, more macaques, and slow lorises. American Journal of Primatology DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22517.
67.
Obaldía N III (2001). Evaluation of drug and vaccine candidates in the human malaria/Aotus monkey model. Report for US Army Medical Research and Material Command. Fort Detrick.
68.
Ogden TE (1994). Opthalmologic research in the owl monkey. In Aotus: The Owl Monkey (Baer JF, Weller RE, Kakoma I, eds.), pp 263-286. San Diego, Academic Press.
69.
Panama (1995). Asamblea legislativa Ley No 24 (de 7 de Junio de 1995). Panama City, Government of Panama.
70.
Panama (2004). Decreto Ejecutivo 43 (de 7 de Julio de 2004). Panama City, Government of Panama.
71.
Paraguay (1976). Ley No 583. Asunción, Congreso Nacional del Paraguay.
72.
Paraguay (2012). Decreto No 9701. Asunción, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería.
73.
Parathian HE, Maldonado AM (2010). Human-nonhuman primate interactions amongst Tikuna people: perceptions and local initiatives for resources management in Amacayacu in the Colombian Amazon. American Journal of Primatology 72: 855-865.
74.
Pound P, Ebrahim S, Sandercock P, Bracken MB, Roberts I (2004). Where is the evidence that animal research benefits humans? BMJ 328: 514-517.
75.
Provincia de Formosa (2012). Leyes provinciales. http://www.legislaturaformosa.gob.ar/?seccion=verley&nro=1582 (accessed July 26, 2016).
76.
Rappold I, Erkert HG (1994). Re-entrainment, phase-response and range of entrainment of circadian rhythms in owl monkeys (Aotus lemurinus) of different age. Biological Rhythm Research 25: 133-152.
77.
Reuter KE, Schaefer MS (2016). Captive conditions of pet lemurs in Madagascar. Folia Primatologica 87: 48-63.
78.
Rojas Briñez DK (2011). Comercio de fauna silvestre en el departamento del Tolima-Colombia bajo el contexto de la demanda internacional de especies. MSc dissertation, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía.
79.
Ruiz-García M, Vásquez C, Camargo E, Castellanos-Mora LF, Gálvez H, Leguizamón N, Shostell JM (2013). Molecular genetics analysis of mtDNA COII gene sequences shows illegal traffic of night monkeys (Aotus, Platyrrhini, Primates) in Colombia. Journal of Primatology 2: 1-9.
80.
Shanee N (2012). Trends in local wildlife hunting, trade and control in the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot, northeastern Peru. Endangered Species Research 19: 177-86.
81.
Shanee S, Allgas N, Shanee N, Campbell N (2015a). Distribution, ecological niche modelling and conservation assessment of the Peruvian night monkey (Mammalia: Primates: Aotidae: Aotus miconax Thomas, 1927) in northeastern Peru, with notes on the distributions of Aotus spp. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7: 6947-6964.
82.
Shanee N, Mendoza AP, Shanee S (2015b). Diagnostic overview of the illegal trade in primates and law enforcement in Peru. American Journal of Primatology DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22516.
83.
Shepherd CR, Sukumaran J, Wich SA (2005). Open Season: An Analysis of the Pet Trade in Medan, North Sumatra, 1997-2001. Petaling Jaya, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.
84.
Siegel S (1956). Non-Parametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. New York, McGraw-Hill.
85.
Stafford CA, Alarcon-Valensuela J, Patiño J, Prezioso RF, Sellers WI (2016). Know your monkey: identifying primate conservation challenges in an indigenous Kichwa community using an ethnoprimatological approach. Folia Primatologica 87: 31-47.
86.
Strier KB (2011). Conservation. In Primates in Perspective (Campbell CJ, Fuentes A, Mackinnon KC, Panger M, Bearder SK, eds.), pp 664-675. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
87.
Svensson MS (2008). Assessing the Distribution and Abundance of Night Monkeys ( Aotus zonalis) in Alto Chagres, Panama. MSc dissertation, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
88.
Svensson MS, Friant SC (2014). Threats from trading and hunting of pottos and angwantibos in Africa resemble those faced by slow lorises in Asia. Endangered Species Research 23: 107-114.
89.
Svensson MS, Ingram DJ, Nekaris KAI, Nijman V (2015). Trade and ethnozoological use of African lorisiforms in the last 20 years. Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammology 26: 153-161.
90.
Tirira DG (2013). Tráfico de primates nativos en el Ecuador. Boletín Técnico 11,Serie Zoológica 8-9: 36-57.
91.
Vasquez J (2003). Compliance and enforcement mechanisms of CITES. In The Trade in Wildlife: Regulation for Conservation (Oldfield S, ed.), pp 63-69. London, Earthscan.
92.
Venezuela (1970). Ley de proteccion a la fauna silvestre. Caracas, Congress of the Republic of Venezuela.
93.
Venezuela (2012). Ley Penal del Ambiente (Gaceta Oficial No 39.913 del 02 de mayo de 2012). Caracas, Congress of the Republic of Venezuela.
94.
Young MD, Porter JA, Johnson CM (1966). Plasmodium vivax transmitted from man to monkey to man. Science 153: 1006-1007.
95.
Zapata-Ríos G, Urgiles C, Suárez E (2009). Mammal hunting by the Shuar of the Ecuadorian Amazon: is it sustainable? Oryx 43: 375-385.
© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel
2017
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.