Monkey Jungle 2010

As part of our routine health and welfare checks we have, for many years, been blood testing our troop of Rhesus Macaques. The tests began in 2000 and have always proved negative. In 2009 however, one monkey tested positive for Simian Herpes B virus and we took the immediate action of closing the Monkey Jungle to visitor traffic whilst we undertook further tests.

During the past year we have been conducting exhaustive research as to how this monkey could have contracted the virus, but the results have been inconclusive. The Longleat troop is and always has been a closed group; how one of our monkeys tested positive to Simian Herpes B virus is sadly a question that will always remain unanswered.

Following further testing, results on two other monkeys were indeterminate; therefore after consultation with the Health & Safety Executive and our veterinary surgeons, it has been decided to carry out further testing on these two particular monkeys and the main group.

With this in mind we will keep our monkeys in quarantine for the foreseeable future, as our two key concerns are to ensure that our visitors are kept safe and to take proper care of these animals. We will obviously endeavour to keep the website up-to-date with any developments as they arise.

We do hope you will appreciate our reasons for these changes and thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Updated June 2010