More laws ought to be introduced to protect the welfare of primates, according to an animal expert.

Ros Clubb, wildlife scientist at the RSPCA, recently raised her concerns that the health and wellbeing of the creatures could suffer under current regulations.

In order to address the issue, the government has released new proposals that educate owners on the needs of animals such as monkeys.

The guidelines outline what owners should feed the creatures, while also offering advice on suitable environments to keep them in.

However, Ms Clubb is calling for a ban on the keeping of monkeys as pets, stating: "Primates are intelligent, socially complex wild animals that can suffer greatly in captivity, but they currently have very little protection under UK law.

"Our calls for a ban have not yet been answered."

The government's guidelines point out that primates are undomesticated creatures that should not be thought of as pets in the way dogs and cats are as they cannot be fully tamed.