PETA Statement: Monkey Seized from Swae Lee’s Home

For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2019

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet in response to reports that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife—acting on a tip from PETA—seized a monkey from rapper Swae Lee’s home in a raid on Wednesday:

The cruel pet trade tears baby monkeys away from their mothers and sells them to novelty seekers, who are wholly unequipped to meet their complex needs. PETA commends California wildlife officials for acting on our complaint by seizing a monkey from Swae Lee, and we hope this animal will now be sent to an accredited facility, where he or she will never again be used as a rapper’s sidekick or social media fodder.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” and the group opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.