Hey everyone, I hope this is the right place to ask. If it’s not, please let me know where I can go to get help or advice.
So here’s the situation. My neighbor, who’s probably in her late 60s or early 70s, recently got two monkeys. At first, everything seemed fine. She would walk them in a stroller designed for pets and let them play on ropes in her carport. But then things started to go wrong. One day, she had another elderly neighbor over (who’s quite frail), and something happened with one of the monkeys. I didn’t see exactly what, but the frail woman ended up falling, and instead of helping her, the monkey owner just brought her monkey inside and left her there.
A couple of weeks later, this same neighbor made a weird comment to my mom about my outdoor cat being on her roof (which wasn’t true). A week after that, my cat went missing for two days. Her boyfriend eventually told us our cat was in the ditch near their house. When we found her, she had no visible injuries—no scratches, no signs of being attacked or hit. This neighbor has admitted before to poisoning stray animals, and she’s been posting on Facebook about trapping and releasing cats in the area.
I want to do something, not just for my cat but to protect other animals in the neighborhood. I also wonder if she’s legally allowed to have these monkeys. From what I’ve read online, it might require a license in Texas. Does anyone know how I could check this? Any advice would be appreciated.
Haim said:
Texas has pretty loose rules when it comes to owning exotic animals.
Yeah, I saw that when I looked it up. But from what I read, it seems like you need a license for certain animals. That’s why I was wondering if there’s a way to check if she has one. I might’ve misunderstood, though.
Trapping and relocating someone’s pet is illegal, and so is taking them to shelters without consent.
As for poison, it’s illegal to intentionally poison someone’s pet, even if it’s on your property. But if someone is laying poison for other reasons and an animal eats it, it gets tricky.
Texas does allow ownership of many exotic animals, but there are rules for what’s considered dangerous. It’s kind of a gray area. For example, kangaroos are legal to own but can still be dangerous.
It sounds like your issue isn’t with the monkeys themselves but with your neighbor’s behavior. From what you’ve said, the monkeys don’t seem to be mistreated or posing a clear danger to others. The incident with the frail neighbor could’ve been more about poor judgment—having someone who’s unsteady around active animals.
I’d be cautious about going after her animals unless you’re sure they’re causing harm. It might be worth focusing on her actions and how she’s treating pets in the area.
You should check with your local city or county ordinances. They might have specific rules about exotic animal ownership. Also, do you know exactly what kind of monkeys these are? Feel free to message me if you want to share more details.