Abstract

As primatologists we take photographs and videos of our study animals, both in the wild and in captivity (zoos and rescue/rehabilitation centres). We use these images across social media (personal and public accounts), on websites, and give them to TV and film crews. We use these images to promote our work and share our findings with colleagues and the general public. We also participate in films where we are often close to primates and some of us work in countries where primates are routinely kept and traded as pets.

In January 2021, after extensive feedback and review from all IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group members, we as members of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions published the Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates online https://human-primate-interactions.org/resources/. Here, we remind readers of the purpose of the guidelines, and reiterate our call to primatologists to play a key role in delivering suitable messages about primates.