Wild baboons are trapped and taken for medical research in laboratories. They are also kept as exotic pets, though they are wholly unsuited to a captive lifestyle. Born Free works in Zambia, Malawi, and Ethiopia to help rescue baboons from captive exploitation, rehabilitate them, and return them to the wild whenever possible. And, at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, we provide a safe, permanent home to formerly captive baboons and other primates.

Born Free also advocates for legislation to protect baboons from harm, including the Captive Primate Safety Act and the Sanctuary Regulatory Fairness Act (the latter of which we assisted in drafting). Unfortunately, neither bill is currently active in Congress.

• Learn about how Born Free USA’s Primate Sanctuary gives baboons who were formerly kept as pets or in research laboratories a second chance at more natural lives.
• Learn about Born Free’s work to stop the keeping and exploitation of captive primates in the U.S.
• Read A Life Sentence (2005): Born Free USA’s investigation into the private ownership of exotic animals.
• Read Downloading Cruelty: An Investigation into the Online Sales of Exotic Pets in the U.S. (2016), Born Free USA’s report that provides an overview and analysis of the volume of online exotic pet sales domestically.

Born Free encourages the protection of baboons’ natural habitats. Baboon habitat is lost due to human growth, including agriculture, irrigation, and overgrazing. Guinea and hamadryas baboons, which have fairly restricted ranges, are threatened by deforestation for agricultural expansion. Similarly, the biggest threat to olive baboons is the loss of habitat caused by humans encroaching on and cultivating once-wild lands.

Unfortunately, human encroachment into wild areas occupied by baboons increases the number and frequency of human/baboon conflicts – and many baboons get killed. The guinea baboon is particularly persecuted, being hunted either for its meat (bushmeat) or to prevent raids on cultivated crops (as the baboons may be viewed as agricultural pests). Traditionally, hamadryas baboons were hunted for their skins, which were worn in ceremonies.

Learn about how Born Free works to conserve baboons in the wild by campaigning against the illegal trade in bushmeat, including the live trade in infant primates.