(JP) Breeder raided over monkey sales

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001226a2.htm

 

Gifu animal firm may be trapping, selling primates to

lab.

 

Officials in Gifu and Kumamoto prefectures suspect

that Japanese monkeys are being bred and sold to

researchers by firms that lack proper authorization.

 

Gifu prefectural officials Sunday searched a breeding

facility of an animal-marketing company in the city of

Gifu, suspecting monkeys were unlawfully being bred

there and later sold.

 

Before the search, the Gifu Prefectural Government's

natural environment and forestry division received a

report that the company, Komori Dobutsu Kikaku, had

killed three monkeys and incinerated them, the

officials said.

 

The search turned up 10 monkeys, but officials could

not confirm that others had been incinerated.

 

The company's breeding facility, set up in the village

of Ijira in the prefecture, was apparently holding

monkeys that had been trapped in the prefecture after

damaging local crops, the officials said. It would

then sell them to a local university laboratory.

 

The officials suspect the firm has violated the Law

Concerning Protection of Wildlife and Game.

 

In late November, an animal-rights group in Tokyo

tipped off the prefectural government that a dealer

was breeding monkeys without a license.

 

Komori Dobutsu officials claimed Sunday that all its

monkeys were obtained through zoos and that they did

not violate any laws. They added that they did not

sell the primates directly to research facilities.

 

While acknowledging that three monkeys were

incinerated, the firm said one had died of old age and

the other two were killed due to a recent drive by

locals to rid their farms of the animals.

 

A researcher at Kanazawa University, which bought some

of the monkeys, said there were no doubts as to the

origin of the monkeys because they came with proper

papers.

 

The prefectural officials said they will conduct

another search shortly and question the company's

officials.

 

Kumamoto prefectural authorities meanwhile said they

suspect that a 52-year-old man residing in the city of

Kumamoto may have been illegally breeding and selling

Japanese monkeys.

 

They said they would inspect his business, the Animal

Research Center, within a few days.

 

Officials have already confirmed that several dozen

monkeys were being kept in small cages in the village

of Kugino at a facility related to the business.

 

The man running the operation does not have

authorization from the Kumamoto governor to breed or

keep the monkeys, sources said.

 

The man said he has been in contact with prefectural

officials about his business and that his center aims

to conduct research on breeding monkeys rather than

selling them.

 

" I've been giving the monkeys away to Osaka University

and institutions in Tokyo. I didn't think I needed

authorization for that, " he said.

 

The Japan Times: Dec. 26, 2000

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