KZN monkey shooting incidents spark outrage

Monkey Helpline’s Steve Smit has expressed his outrage over the shooting of a vervet monkey that was shot in the eye by what appears to be a pellet gun, Northglen News reports.

The five-month-old monkey was found by local resident and Monkey Helpline assistant rescuer Diane Bester on Curlewis Close in La Lucia earlier this week.

READ MORE: Growing concerns over monkey attacks

Smit said it was too early to tell if the baby monkey may still lose its eye.

“The lid of his eye is still very swollen, and the eye itself looks to be irreparably damaged. We are shocked by the cruelty and callousness shown by whoever was responsible for this reprehensible act.

“We were on our way to rescue another monkey shot on Chartwell Drive that later died from a wound to the abdomen when we received a call out about the incident in Curlewis Close. Diane [Bester] found this monkey with the wound to [its] eye in her garden. We are monitoring him, but it is still early to tell if there was any serious brain damage,” he said.

“It’s sickening, [and] we are seeing more and more monkeys with pellet guns wounds, and that’s because of a number of reasons. One of them is the ease at which you can purchase an air or pellet gun. We are also seeing more and more wildlife, like hadedas and in some cases residents’ pets which are shot at.

“It is illegal to discharge a firearm in a built-up area. I just can’t understand people who do this to any animal,” he said.

Smit said he hoped the young monkey would make a full recovery, adding he was still being monitored for the next few days to assess his progress.

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