Welfare of primates: care plans and records

Care plans and health plans

You should keep written care and health plans for your animals. These plans should explain what is needed to meet your responsibilities. They are also useful if other people help with daily care, or if another keeper needs to look after your animals.

The care plan should include:

• daily care routines, including feeding, cleaning and safe handling
• checks on the animals at least once every day
• the specific needs of each animal
• a veterinary health plan and contact details for the keeper’s veterinary practice

The health plan should include:

• steps to prevent illness, such as parasite control, vaccination, and separating ill or newly imported animals
• regular health visits for larger collections, and routine health care tasks that are the keeper’s responsibility
• routine checks for illness, for example for parasites and common harmful bacteria
• the veterinary provider, who should have enough expert knowledge of the species being kept

'Just in case' plans for primates' health

All animal owners and keepers should have emergency plans in place. This includes knowing how to get veterinary help outside normal working hours, so help is available at all times.

Emergency plans should include:

• emergency contact details and service arrangements
• what to do if electricity or other services fail
• what to do if there is a fire
• what to do if an animal escapes

Records

Records are important. They help with disease control and support good assessment and management of each animal’s behaviour and social relationships.

Records should be kept up to date for all animals and groups of animals at the premises. Where possible, each animal should be identifiable as an individual.

Records should include the following information:

• identification details and scientific name
• origin, including whether the animal was born in the wild or in captivity, details of its parents if known, and any previous location
• the dates the animal entered and left the collection, and who it came from or went to
• date of birth, or estimated date of birth
• sex
• distinctive marks, including microchip details
• clinical details, including the dates and details of any treatment
• diet and weight, recorded at regular times
• veterinary care, including preventive care, diagnosis, treatment and procedures
• behaviour records and life history details
• date of death, and the results of any post-mortem examination or laboratory tests

More useful links

• Primates
• Search for a veterinary practice
• Pet Advertising Advisory Group