Greater Manchester is Britain’s illegal monkey capital, according to the RSPCA.

The pet charity says it received more calls about primates in distress than anywhere else - with numerous reports that animals are being kept as pets in yards, garages and houses.

Over the last five years, the number of complaints about ill-treated or neglected monkeys has trebled.

In all there have been 34 calls in Greater Manchester - far more than the 23 received in Greater London.

The figures make our region the capital of suffering pet monkeys.

Under UK law it is legal to keep a monkey as a pet with a licence granted Dangerous Wild Animals Act, but welfare experts say that as few as 5 per cent of animals are actually licensed.

Reports of abuse include primates being kept in bird cages, fed fast food and sugary drinks, struggling in isolation, living in dirty squalor - and suffering from disease.

Across the UK, around 5,000 primates are being kept as pets. Among the most popular species are Marmosets, capuchins and squirrel monkeys.

But new data suggests that many are suffering without their vital social, dietary and environmental needs met.

Rescue groups such as the RSPCA and Wild Futures receive around one call every three days relating to the welfare of a monkey.

Dr Ros Clubb, RSPCA senior scientific officer, said the trend for keeping primates is up, adding: “The level of calls we are getting to the RSPCA just shows the number of primates that are out there are increasing - and at an alarming level. The spread of calls across the country is real cause for concern too.

“We fear there are hundreds more that are suffering behind closed doors because people do not know how to look after these animals properly.

“Because of the specific needs of these animals their level of suffering is extreme. As well as dietary and environmental needs primates are highly social animals and they have extremely complex behavioural and social needs - but sadly in many cases they are being kept as lone primates.”

As a result, the RSPCA has joined forces with Born Free Foundation, British Veterinary Association(BVA), Captive Animal Protection Society, Four Paws, One Kind and Wild Futures to push for a ban on keeping primates as pets.

Chris Draper, programmes manager for Captive Wild Animals at the Born Free Foundation said homes were no place for ‘non-human primates’.

He added: “Whether wild-caught or born in captivity, primates have extremely complex social, spatial and environmental needs which cannot be met when kept as pets. Offering these intelligent animals for sale as pets inevitably results in a lifetime of suffering. It is time for this embarrassing and cruel practice to end.”

Top ten hotspots for calls to the RSPCA re: primates between 2011-2015

1. Greater Manchester - 34 calls

2. Greater London - 23 calls

3. West Yorkshire - 16 calls

4. Essex - 14 calls

5. Staffordshire - 11 calls

6. Hampshire - 10 calls

Merseyside - 9 calls

8. Devon - 9 calls

9. Norfolk - 8 calls

10. North Yorkshire - 8 calls

11. Somerset - 8 calls

12. Hertfordshire - 8 calls