MONKEY World has praised a report into the perilous situation faced by the world's monkeys and apes.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature revealed last week that 39 per cent of primates are at risk of extinction.

Dr Alison Cronin said the report highlights the battles the Dorset-based conservation centre has been fighting.

The threat is put down logging destroying habitats, and animal smuggling for bushmeat and the trade in exotic pets.

Dr Cronin said: "There are more species in danger and more ecosystems being destroyed.

"Reports like this are very important and it certainly confirms everything we have been fighting for the past 21 years."

Monkey World has worked with 16 governments to stop smuggling and recently opened a conservation centre in Vietnam.

South East Asia was picked out in the IUCN report for its particularly bleak situation - more than 90 per cent of all primates in Vietnam and Cambodia are under threat.