Concern as monkey used on restaurant's social media

The use of a baby monkey in a restaurant's social media video has sparked concerns from primate charities.

Eastern Jam, a restaurant in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, posted a video of a woman holding a young marmoset called Pablo, which was captioned: "Even the monkey had to see what the hype was about."

When people on social media expressed concern about the use of the animal in the video, the restaurant replied that the video was AI-generated.

However, the restaurant later told the BBC that the video was not AI-generated but had been filmed by external social media company, Influencable, without management's consent. Influenceable did not respond to a request for comment.

The video features a woman initially holding the baby monkey in a towel outside the restaurant, who says: "Guys, I bought my friend to try Eastern Jam for the first time."

It then shows the woman inside the restaurant with a table full of food and the monkey placed on her shoulder, before she holds him up in the air while talking about the restaurant's food.

The video sparked several comments from people concerned about the use of the monkey in a commercial video, with the restaurant responding that it had been created by AI.

However, BBC Verify carried out visual checks and concluded that the video did not appear to be AI-generated.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Eastern Jam said they "did not authorise or commission a shoot involving a live monkey".

"Our understanding was that the content being produced featured our approved model and food, and we had incorrectly assumed that any unusual elements were usually AI-generated," they added.

"Due to online feedback from social media users, and in particular someone with experience in AI we started an internal investigation... and we have established that a real monkey was used during part of the shoot, which does not belong to Eastern Jam.

"This particular element was arranged without the knowledge or specific authorisation of Eastern Jam's management."

The spokesperson also explained they had outsourced their social media management to an external company in Willenhall called Influenceable.

Eastern Jam told the BBC that it had now ended its contract with Influenceable "with immediate effect".

"We would also like to offer our sincere apologies for the initial confusion on our part," a spokesperson said.

The Primate Society of Great Britain said it was "fundamentally opposed to the use of living primates to produce online content for private or commercial gain".

They told the BBC that the primate featured in the video was an immature marmoset monkey, estimated to be between the age of six and 10 weeks old.

A spokesperson said "It is likely that the animal in this video is experiencing significant stress, given the absence of its family members, and through being handled by unfamiliar individuals in a loud and overstimulating environment.

"Additionally, videos like this, whether real or AI generated, can lead to the perception that primates are appropriate pets and suitable for possession in a domestic setting. This is not the case.

"Primates are undomesticated wild animals, which if housed in human-made environments require specialised professional care (e.g., within zoos or sanctuaries).

"The perception that primates are suitable pets is a key driver of illegal pet trades, which is a critical conservation threat for many primates (including marmosets), alongside broader habitat destruction."

Veterinary adviser for the charity Action for Primates, Nedim C Buyukmihci, said: "Using this infant marmoset for entertainment and as a prop for financial gain to advertise a restaurant is cruel and totally inappropriate.

"The monkey is being subjected to a frightening and stressful situation and susceptible to the risk of disease transmission from human customers.

"Monkeys are sentient, intelligent, highly social and complex animals and they do not belong in this kind of domestic setting or in captivity to entertain people."

In January, the government introduced more stringent legislation regarding the ownership of monkeys, estimating that between 3,000 and 9,000 primates were being kept privately in the UK.

The legislation means it has been illegal to keep monkeys, chimpanzees, lemurs and other primates in England without a licence since April, and that they must be kept in "zoo-like" conditions.

Eastern Jam said: "We have been advised that the primate is licensed and well looked after. However, as we aren't the owners, we can't confirm this information ourselves."

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