(SG)Confiscated vervet monkey sent back to Zambia

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/83151/1/.html

 

Confiscated vervet monkey sent back to Zambia

By Rita Zahara, Channel NewsAsia

 

SINGAPORE: A vervet monkey kept illegally as a pet in

a Singapore home has been confiscated and is on his

way to a new home in Zambia.

 

The monkey was confiscated in May last year and

quarantined at the Singapore Zoo since then.

 

Now the pet primate is finally going back to its

native continent.

 

The adventure of the monkey, named Blue, started six

years ago when he was smuggled from Cape Town into

Singapore in a boat.

 

Blue, then a baby, was cute and adorable.

 

But when he grew older and reached sexual maturity,

Blue started to bite the owner and the daughter.

 

So, the owner wanted to abandon Blue.

 

Animal welfare group, ACRES, found out about Blue's

plight from their counterparts in the US, who were

first alerted by the daughter of Blue's owner.

 

Said ACRES president Louis Ng: " We first got the news

from International Primate Protection League based in

the US. They actually received an email from the

owner's daughter, asking if they knew of a home for

the vervet monkey. Because at that point, the vervet

monkey had reached sexual maturity and was starting to

bite the owner and the daughter, so they wanted to get

rid of him. We went down with AVA (Agri-Food and

Veterinary Authority) to confiscate the monkey. "

 

When Blue was found, it was chained up and had cuts

around its neck and legs.

 

He weighed only seven kilogrammes as he was fed with

rice and water, instead of fruits.

 

Since Blue was rescued a year ago, the Singapore Zoo

has spent about $5,000 to care for the monkey, feeding

him and teaching him how to get acclimatised to life

in the wild.

 

" We provide him with a lot of enrichment devices like

branches, ropes and hammocks so that he can actually

get used to how it will behave in the wild, " said

Biswajit Guha, an assistant curator at the Singapore

zoo.

 

Unlike other confiscated primates who have made their

home at the zoo, there is no community of vervet

monkeys in Singapore.

 

Therefore, Blue will be making his next home at the

Munda Wanga Sanctuary in Zambia.

 

The sanctuary houses orphaned and injured animals from

around the world and Blue will be with 15 other vervet

monkeys in an enclosed natural area.

 

Under the Wild Animals and Birds Act, it is illegal to

keep monkeys as pets in Singapore.

 

In this case, the owner was given a warning.

 

Usually, offenders can be fined up to $5000 and jailed

for a year. - CNA

 

Copyright & #65385; 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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