Runaway monkey reunited with owners after being found at Scottish train station

A train station close to Glasgow had a surprise visitor on Saturday afternoon in the shape of a marmoset monkey.

The pet primate was first spotted perching on a handrail in Cambuslang station at around 3pm when members of the public alerted ScotRail to the situation.

The train operator then issued an appeal to try to find the monkey’s owner.

“I’ve dealt with lost phones, handbags and glasses over the years but this is definitely a first!” ScotRail tweeted.

“If you’ve lost your monkey… it’s waiting on the next service from Cambuslang into the town.”

Just after 6pm, ScotRail tweeted that the monkey had been reunited with its owners. “It’s good news people. This wee fella has been reunited with his family! Here he is one last time eating a tin of fruit. Canny believe he had a tin opener!”

It is currently legal to sell or keep primates as pets in the UK, but it has been discouraged by the SPCA and animal welfare charities like the Born Free Foundation, who estimate that there could be 4,000 to 5,000 monkeys kept as pets across the UK.

In 2020, the UK government conducted a consultation on the trade and ownership of exotic pets, and plans to roll out legislation that would prohibit keeping monkeys as pets.