In January 2008 the Monkey World primate sanctuary in Wool carried out its biggest ever animal rescue.
Eighty-eight capuchin monkeys were brought to the Dorset centre from a laboratory in Chile, where the primates had been caged for use in medical research.
Now, over a year on, the monkeys have made good progress, as Monkey World director Dr Alison Cronin explains:
"One year on, the rehabilitation process has been absolutely magic, and a lot of that is down to our expertise and preparing the environment here beforehand, and the care of the primate care staff who are trained in primate rehabilitation.
"We've got the capuchins into three social groups and all 88 have made it. Everyone's doing fantastic.
The Capuchins' tiny laboratory cage
'You can see a huge difference'
"Physically they've changed so much as well. Comparing them to how they looked then and now you can see a huge difference - their coats have improved, their tails are curling up like they should, and their eyes are bright - they are being monkeys again."
Rescuing the 88 monkeys took a long time to plan, and Alison and her team received special permission from the government and Hurn Airport, for them to land, in a Chilean military Hercules transporter, in Bournemouth.
And while the rescue was being carried out, preparations were going on back at Monkey World.
She says: "We made best efforts to set up five houses and enclosures knowing they'd be anti-social and that a certain number of them would be quite likely to not rehabilitate, at which point we'd have to make decisions about whether or not we would have to put some of them to sleep.
"But you don't know exactly what to expect, so we got on with the preparations, hoping we'd managed to get at least most of them into one of five social groupings, and that's where we started.
Dr Cronin in the empty lab
'A monster task'
"We hadn't planned on taking 88 capuchins all at once, as it is a bit crazy to take on so many at once, but animal rights activists at the centre in Chile had been threatening its staff, so we were given the option, 'You come over and collect as many capuchins as you can and the rest will be put to sleep'.
"So I went to my primate care staff here and asked them their opinion to see if they'd be prepared to take all 88 at once, with the understanding that if any were a danger to themselves or others we would then take that hard choice to put them to sleep ourselves, but at least give them all the opportunity to have a good retirement here at the park.
"It was a monster task. But overall we are very pleased with their progress but the rehabilitation process carries on."
The 88 capuchins joined five already at Monkey World.
These had been rescued from homes here in the UK, where the animals had been kept as pets, and Alison says that 'they were just as crazy and abused or neglected' as those rescued from Chile.
Dr Alison Cronin
Changing the UK pet trade
In fact, the UK pet trade is a huge problem for Alison and her team at the rescue centre.
Alison says: "Monkey World is renown for our work overseas, and when I tell people I rescued 88 capuchins monkeys from Chile everyone tuts and says, 'Oh yes, I'm sure', but actually one of our biggest and chronic problems in terms of the primate trade is here in this country.
"It is perfectly legal in this country at this point in time to legally own marmosets, capuchins, tamarins, all different species of primate, and to buy and sell them as part of the pet trade.
"Some are kept in tiny cages, or in solitary confinement, and nobody really knows about it. It's a tragedy."
Bringing about a change in UK law is Alison's goal.
Alison says: "We're asking the British government to require the same standards of care that's expected here at Monkey World, across the board, so it doesn't matter if you're a monkey kept in a private home - you would still have a right to companionship of your own kind, to an appropriate diet, to a proper vet [rather than just a regular cat or dog vet], and access to professional care.
"We've been campaigning the government to modify the pet trade [rather than call for an outright ban] as we're very practical and we know calling for a total ban isn't going to get a good reaction as it might appear a bit extreme to some.
"We're getting a bit of interest, and our Dorset South MP Jim Knight has been very helpful in taking our thoughts and concerns to the government.
"I'm hopeful that some day they might change the law to apply the same standards and duty of care that exist in public wildlife parks to the private market as well."
Two Capuchins at Monkey World
'Life marches on'
In the meantime, the work of Monkey World continues.
Right now Dr Cronin and her team are planning the rescue of an adult chimpanzee, Coco, who works as a photographer's prop on a Mexican beach; wild chimpanzees in Turkey, and also have two recent arrivals from Kent Police - Cotton-top tamarins, Uncas and Alice, who were found in a bird cage in a kitchen at a puppy farm.
There's still plenty of work to do. Alison says: "Everyday, life marches on here - life and death, we have it all because sometimes animals arrive in such a bad condition, and we can't meet all of their needs.
"But we do the best we can for all the guys we have here. We have more than 250 primates on site, and we're looking after them.
"They all have their needs and wants, and breakfast and dinner have to be put out, and we're going to continue to do the best we can."
