Poaching and Smuggling
You might be wondering where spider monkeys even begin their journey. Well, they do not start their lives in America. Instead, poachers track wild troops of monkeys in Mexico and South America by sound, listening for their calls in the rainforest.
They shoot the mothers out of the trees and take their babies, sometimes even using smoke or fire to drive entire groups out of hiding. Sometimes even harming other troop members who try to protect the infants. These surviving babies are then sold to traffickers/smugglers.
Once in the smugglers hands, the monkeys are moved north through smuggling routes into Texas and other border states, hidden in backpacks, purses, zippered bags, or cramped compartments in vehicles with little air, no food or water, and no veterinary care. Many arrive severely dehydrated, malnourished, and sick.
A news investigation recently found that in a six-week span, enforcement confiscated “nearly 90” baby spider monkeys at the Texas-Mexico border.
This isn’t just animal cruelty—it's species destruction.