Elevated hair cortisol and decreased hair testosterone indicates chronic disruption of the HPA/HPG axis and is reflective of poor welfare in Rhesus Macaques used as performing (dancing) monkeys in Pakistan

Abstract

Throughout South and South East Asia it is common to see native monkeys being used in public entertainment as Dancing Monkeys (DM). In Pakistan, native rhesus macaques are captured from the wild during infancy and trained using negative reinforcement methods to perform for public entertainment. This study aimed to quantify and compare physiological stress in 50 DM with 77 controls from an outdoor harem- housed colony of captive rhesus macaques, and to assess whether certain behavioural indices observed in DM were reflective of physiological state. DM had significantly higher hair cortisol concentrations (t(77.358)=−2.8099CI(−0.519,−0.088), p<0.01, d= 0.531) and lower hair testosterone concentrations (t(66.6)=4.917, 95CI(0.474, 1.1108), p<0.0001, d=1.16) compared to the controls. Linear modelling indicated that hair cortisol was positively associated with fear and ectoparasite load, and negatively associated with ectoparasite presence. Hair testosterone was negatively associated with aggression and body welfare and positively associated with abnormal behaviour. The results were assessed relative to semi-structured trainer interviews to better understand observed negative physiological and behavioural markers indicating stress and hence poor welfare. Overall, the results exemplify the merit of using a two-fold biobehavioural approach for assessing welfare and indicate that DM are under chronic physiological stress which is associated with negative behavioural outcomes.