Years of Production
2020

Delivery Format / Length
HD / Micro-Movie

Production by
An Ateles Films production by Michael Sanderson and Ana Luisa Santos

Film Festival Awards

*Official Press Releases: United Nations Environment Program & CITES (2020)

The Story

Are you looking for a Spider Monkey for Sale?

If the last time you saw a cute monkey video and you said ’I want one…’ then this might be for you.

This is the more frequent comment we see when cute clips are posted on social media. Although it is often made without real intention, there are some people that are serious. This demand creates a supply that is provided by desperate people who can see this as an opportunity. Sold for a couple of dollars after being stolen, they become worth thousands in the city and across borders tens of thousands, if they even survive the journey.

Every pet monkey comes from the wild. Even if they come from a breeding sanctuary, there are recent descendants from a monkeys that was physically stolen from the wild. Spider Monkey For Sale shows how a baby spider monkey gets stolen from its family by killing their mother, father, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and other members of their group that get in the way.

If you knew the true cost of wanting and owning a baby monkey for your own entertainment, would you still want one?

If you really need a furry friend, check the local shelter for dogs and cats in need, domesticated breeds that have evolved with us, not wild and endangered animals which the few wildernesses left need to remain alive and worth protecting. A forest without biodiversity is harder to protect than with. Every species counts.

Copyright Ateles Films