Kmart used to sell pet monkeys in the 1960s. It wasn’t alone

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The Kmart retail chain sold pet monkeys in the 1960s.

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<p>A viral rumor circulating across social media platforms asserts that the once-ubiquitous Kmart retail chain actually used to sell live pet monkeys back in the 1960s.</p>
<p>On Oct. 7, a Facebook user shared a personal recollection about being taken by their father in 1962 to a Canadian Kmart location that featured monkeys available for purchase. The post recalled, "They used to have a cage in the back of the store and they used to sell monkeys as pets. Anyone else remember this?"</p>
<p>Replies to the post were filled with other users chiming in with similar memories of spotting primates at Kmart during the same decade, while some even recalled classrooms hosting small monkeys during that era.</p>
<p>One curious reader reached out to ask, "Did Kmart sell monkeys in the 1960s? Huge debate on Facebook."</p>
<p>The same discussion regarding Kmart's exotic pet offerings has surfaced across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Reddit, and X.</p>
<p>As it turns out, this unbelievable claim is entirely true. Historical newspaper archives confirm that during the 1960s, at least select Kmart stores in both the United States and Canada did indeed sell monkeys as part of their pet departments, which were often promoted under names like the "Pet Circus."</p>
<p>Inquiries sent to Transformco—the entity that acquired the U.S. Kmart brand in 2019—aimed to gather further historical context, with updates promised should additional details emerge.</p>
<p>Further investigation into the topic also uncovered an apparent AI-generated vintage-style photograph depicting a family admiring a monkey inside a Kmart, historical records showing that Sears also traded in exotic animals, and authentic mail-order advertisements from the era offering live monkeys directly through the postal service.</p>

<h2>Yes, Kmart Sold Monkeys</h2>
<p>Initial lookups through digital library archives yielded little information, but searches on Newspapers.com quickly uncovered extensive documentation confirming the practice.</p>
<p>For instance, a Nov. 6, 1963, advertisement in the Ontario-based *Kitchener-Waterloo Record* promoted a Kmart "Big Pet Circus Sale," which included squirrel monkeys priced at $19.95 each (with enclosures sold separately). The ad described them as "Moss Monkeys," noting they made ideal pets despite being delicate in captivity.</p>
<p>Stateside promotions followed a similar pattern. A Sept. 18, 1964, advertisement in the *Danville Register* in Virginia highlighted a "Giant Pet Circus" featuring seven squirrel monkeys named Jackson, Jacob, Jason, Jeremiah, Jesse, Julius, and Mable.</p>
<p>Later that month, a Michigan newspaper promoted a "Pet Circus Parade Sale" where customers could enter their pets into various novelty categories to win prizes, alongside promotions centered around a valuable pet squirrel monkey.</p>
<p>By October 1965, full-page advertisements ran across several Canadian newspapers featuring illustrations of squirrel monkeys priced at $19.98, marketed as an entertaining and popular addition to any household.</p>
<img class="img-lg" src="https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/600?url=https://media.snopes.com/2026/10/kmart_monkeys_pet_circus.jpeg" alt=""/>
<p><strong>(The Sault Daily Star via Newspapers.com)</strong></p>
<p>Promotions continued into 1966, with a Danville Register ad listing squirrel monkeys alongside South American red squirrels, chipmunks, baby alligators, and even a five-foot iguana lizard. Newspapers in North Dakota similarly referenced the availability of monkeys in Kmart pet sections around the same time.</p>

<h2>Apparent Fake Kmart Monkey Image</h2>
<p>During the research process, a widely shared Facebook post surfaced featuring what appeared to be a vintage photograph of a Kmart employee holding a monkey next to an interested family.</p>
<p>An analysis using OpenAI's detection tools indicated the presence of a SynthID watermark, suggesting the content was generated using artificial intelligence, though independent verification could not fully rule out other digital manipulation.</p>
<img class="img-lg" src="https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/600?url=https://media.snopes.com/2026/10/kmart_monkeys_openai_scan.jpg" alt=""/>
<p><strong>(OpenAI)</strong></p>
<p>Visual giveaways included inconsistencies in the way store signage displayed logos and numerical digits, such as varying styles of the number "9." Furthermore, reverse image searches failed to locate any historical circulation of the photo prior to the digital era.</p>

<h2>Sears Offered Monkeys and Alligators Too</h2>
<p>Discussions online have frequently pointed out that Kmart was not alone in offering such creatures; competitor Sears, Roebuck and Co. also engaged in the exotic pet trade.</p>
<p>California newspaper archives from 1962 and 1963 featured advertisements for "Pet Shop Specials" and "Pet Fair Spectaculars," offering animals such as ocelots, boa constrictors, wooly monkeys, weeper monkeys, and alligators.</p>
<img class="img-lg" src="https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/600?url=https://media.snopes.com/2026/10/sears_pet_shop_specials.jpg" alt=""/>
<p><strong>(Independent via Newspapers.com)</strong></p>
<p>Additional advertisements promoted "lively" and "exotic" primates, including cotton-top marmosets, spider monkeys, stump-tailed macaques, and cinnamon ringtails.</p>

<h2>Monkey Delivery by Mail</h2>
<p>Social media posts regarding the Kmart phenomenon occasionally include unrelated historical artifacts, such as mail-order advertisements for live animals.</p>
<p>A verified 1966 advertisement in the Texas-based *Kilgore News Herald* offered a mail-order pet monkey with live delivery guaranteed for $18.95.</p>
<img class="img-lg" src="https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/600?url=https://media.snopes.com/2026/10/monkey_kilgore_news_herald.jpg" alt=""/>
<p><strong>(Kilgore News Herald via Newspapers.com)</strong></p>
<p>The advertisement promised an adorable companion that grew to about 12 inches tall, noting it could eat regular table food and came packaged with a free cage, collar, leash, toy, and care instructions shipped directly from a distributor in Miami Beach, Florida.</p>

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