Chinese internet user cashes in on Year of the Monkey by illegally offering tiny South American primate for sale

A Chinese internet user is cashing in on the Year of the Monkey by selling marmosets – the world’s smallest monkey – over the internet, despite a strict ban on selling primates on the mainland, according to a media report.

According to Xiamen Daily, the user going by the name Xiao Chen posted a photo of a marmoset clinging to his thumb on WeChat, with the caption reading: “Snow leopard skin and Oranda goldfish are out. This is my new year present. Its name is Xiao Sheng.”

When people inquired about the price, Xiao said his friend sold them for 30,000 yuan (HK$35,560).

When approached by a Daily reporter, Xiao Chen said he was simply the middleman, and only made 5,000 yuan on each marmoset, but he hadn’t sold any yet.

Just 10cm to 12cm high and weighing only 80 grams to 100 grams, marmosets live in the forests along the Amazon River in South America.

Under mainland law, primates cannot be privately kept nor traded. As marmosets are a foreign species, keeping them would involve inspection and quarantine issues as well.