Activist group to host demonstration at Shawnee pet shop for monkey

A Kansas City-based animal activist group will host a protest urging a Shawnee pet shop to release a Capuchin monkey it features at the store.

From noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Kansas City Action For Animals will demonstrate on the sidewalk in front of the Pet Stop, 6218 Nieman Rd., asking for the release of Frankie, a monkey the pet store has cared for since he was young, so he can live in an animal sanctuary in Texas.

“We’ve been working for the last year, really formalizing this pressure campaign against Pet Stop, who’s keeping Frankie in extreme captivity,” said Amanda Williams, a community activist with Kansas City Action for Animals.

In a short statement to the Johnson County Post, Greg Smith, the owner-operator of Pet Stop, a long-standing business in Shawnee, said the store wants to continue caring for Frankie.

“We have been Frankie’s sole caretaker for over 18 years. We will continue to provide a safe, healthy, and loving home for him,” he wrote.

‘Free Frankie’ campaign has been ongoing

For about a year and a half, Kansas City Action for Animals has been asking for Frankie’s release through a campaign called “Free Frankie.”

Working with the support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the organization has created social media accounts, including TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, and launched email campaigns and petitions demanding Frankie’s release.

The group wants Frankie released so he can be placed in an animal rehabilitation program at Wildlife Animal and Rehabilitation in Kendalia, Texas.

“They’re a well established, globally accredited sanctuary. It’s not a private zoo or anything. They’re not open to the public. It’s a true sanctuary and rehab,” Williams said.

They were chosen because they have a rehab program specifically for Capuchin monkeys.

“They have experts on staff who have done this kind of rehabilitation before, taking a Capuchin monkey from extreme captivity and rehabbing them, getting them introduced back into a social group of monkeys, because that’s how they’re supposed to live,” Williams said.

The group has had contact with Pet Stop

While Kansas City Action for Animals has had contact with Smith in the past, Williams described their relationship with Pet Stop as “not good.”

“We started the campaign on friendly turns,” she said. “We had primatologists reach out to them to tell them ‘Hey, it’s not good socially, physically, mentally, for sentient primates to be living in a tiny cage for their whole life.’ That really didn’t go anywhere.”

While Williams said other efforts to contact Smith have been fruitless, they’re not giving up.

“We’ve been very clear with them: ‘We’re not trying to harm your business. We’re not trying to put you out. All we want is to transition Frankie into sanctuary so he can live a better quality life,'” she said.

Smith did not comment on Pet Stop’s relationship with Kansas Action for Animals.

What’s next

The organization will provide signs at the event, as well as food from Kansas City Food Not Bombs.

The hope is the people’s voices will be heard and Frankie will get released, Williams said.

“I’m hoping that with the demonstration, they’re going to see, ‘Oh, the community really does care about this. Maybe we should give it another (thought),'” she said. “And if not, it’s just going to remind them that, as a group, we’re not giving up.”

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