West Norfolk Council has declined to release any more detail about the request, which surfaced in a report to councillors.

Jim Moriarty, its cabinet member for planning and licensing says in his report to Thursday's full council meeting: "We have received our first application to licence two primates within the borough.

"Those primates also require a Dangerous Wild Animals licence."

People who keep monkeys as pets will soon need to be licensed (Image: Charles J Sharp/Wikimedia Commons)

No detail regarding the address the monkeys will be kept at, the type of monkey or whether they are already someone's pets are provided and the council would not elaborate when asked.

The ward where they will live will be published on the animal welfare page of its website if a licence is granted.

Online guidance says new animal welfare rules which come into force next month require all primate keepers to be licensed: "To ensure that only private keepers who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates."

The council's website adds: "Existing private primate keepers can apply for a primate licence from April 2025, and from April 6 2026 all private primate keepers and people proposing to keep a primate will be required to hold a licence, valid for a maximum of three years, and undergo reassessment to renew their permission to keep their animals."

West Norfolk Council's offices in King's Lynn (Image: Ian Burt)

It warns anyone found keeping monkeys without a licence will be liable to up to six months in prison, a fine - or both.

Anyone who wants to keep monkeys must also be licensed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act.

They need to apply to their local council for each animal, giving details of its species, along with its name, sex, date of birth and the number of any microchip which has been implanted in it.

The council will also send a vet round to inspect their premises, before deciding whether or not to grant the licence, which lasts two years .

West Norfolk charges £375 per primate application and £276 per dangerous animal licence, plus a separate charge for the vet's visit.

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