Monkey found in woman's conservatory gets new home

A woman found Marcel the marmoset in her conservatory after she had seen him in her garden for a few days

A mystery monkey which was found in a woman's conservatory has been taken to his new home at an ape rescue centre.

Marcel the marmoset was rescued from a home in Wolverhampton by volunteers at Wings and Paws Rescue after the woman found the wild monkey in her house.

The animal charity said they have since secured a permanent home for Marcel at Monkey World in Dorset, where the marmoset arrived on Wednesday.

Rescuers at Wings and Paws said Marcel was so friendly that they believed he had been a pet who was dumped or released into the wild.

Marcel was settling in at Monkey World, Wings and Paws Rescue said

The woman who called the centre saw Marcel in her garden in the days before he managed to get into her house, the charity said and they added they thought from her description he was a squirrel.

Wings and Paws were “taken aback” when they arrived and found a monkey sitting on a countertop.

Volunteer Gemma Warner said: "To say we're ecstatic is an understatement!

"This wasn't an easy task, Monkey World places are in very high demand. Our volunteers worked relentlessly to make this happen and [Monkey World] could see he deserved a new start and that Wings and Paws would only accept the very best for our Marcel!"

He would get his own enclosure at the Dorset centre and would be introduced to "his new girlfriend" once he was ready, Ms Warner added.

The Wolverhampton rescue team were also planning a trip to Monkey World in "the very near future".

New rules

Marmosets are native to South America and it is legal in the UK to keep them as pets but the RSPCA advises against it, because it says they need a warm climate and lots of stimulation.

The government brought in new rules earlier this year to make it illegal to keep monkeys, lemurs and other primates without a licence from April 2026.

The legislation, passed in February, means private owners of primates will need to be checked by local authorities to ensure they have the right arrangements in place to properly care for the animals.

Anyone who owns one without an appropriate licence could face six months in jail, an unlimited fine - or both.