THERE is a heated dispute between the NSPCA and local primate rescue and education organisation, Monkey Helpline.
The NSPCA recently released a press statement saying monkeys were locked in parrot cages, without food or water, at Monkey Helpline’s premisses.
The NSPCA said it issued a warning in terms of the Animal Protection Act No 71 of 162 and said serious welfare issues were to be corrected immediately and major improvements to facilities are to be effected over the next three
months.
The NSCPA said more than 200 vervet monkeys are being kept in a residential home and property in Westville. Some of the monkeys have been confined for up to a year in parrot cages in the house, not because they require veterinary treatment, but because the owner, Steve Smit, also of Monkey Helpline, has no space to create more outside cages to keep them in. These animals are denied basic behaviours and are testimony to a serious case of wild animal hoarding.
“Steve Smit has finally admitted that animal cruelty is occurring and that it is unacceptable to confine these animals unnecessarily,” said Sr. Ainsley Hay, manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit.
Monkey Helpline lashes back
BUT the KwaZulu-Natal-based monkey rescue organisation said it is appalled by the NSPCA’s decision to issue a media statement on its findings.
“We believe that the NSPCA has acted in bad faith and view this action on the part of the NSPCA as a deliberate and retaliatory attempt to undermine the integrity of Monkey Helpline after we recently criticised their primate euthanasia ruling publicly on their Facebook page, and challenged the NSPCA to convene provincial meetings for all interested and affected parties to address the crisis facing indigenous primates in South Africa,” said Monkey Helpline founder, Steve Smit.
“Monkey Helpline has been at the forefront of public criticism of the NSPCA and has even started a causes petition on Facebook calling on the NSPCA to abandon this policy,” Smit said.
“It is important to realise that all the monkeys in the care of Monkey Helpline have been rescued by us from extremely dire situations and are severely compromised”, said Smit.
“Every one of these monkeys would have suffered and died had we not intervened and provided life-saving treatment and recovery care where possible and desirable.
“The claims by the NSPCA that, ‘vervet monkeys and some parrots were found to be without food and water and kept in filthy, cramped cages’, is sensationalised and subjective,” said Smit.
“No monkey, or for that matter any other animal in our care, goes a single day without fresh food and water. We are committed to providing for the basic needs and more of all the animals in our care, and the NSPCA inspector who carried out the inspection would have to admit that all the animals are physically in good condition, Smit added.
New property sourced for organisation
BUT according to inspector Ainsley Hay, “Steve, and his partner, Carol, are possibly the most talented monkey catchers that I know of, they do not accept no for an answer, and will persevere until they have caught a monkey in need. This is commendable, and if they had stuck to rescuing animals in need and treating them and releasing them back to their troops as soon as recovered, we would have absolutely no problems. The problem remains that this is no longer their core focus, and they have began accumulating non-releasable animals in tiny cages, with only the vague hope of new land being secured to create sanctuary enclosures for them. We have been told that there is new land and cages coming for these animals for over a year and a half now.”
Smit said that Hay’s claim that he, ‘has finally admitted that animal cruelty is occurring and that it is unacceptable to confine these animals unnecessarily’ is both incorrect and presented out of context.
Smit said he agrees that unnecessary confinement for gratuitous reasons is cruel, but the confinement of monkeys in the Monkey Helpline clinic is not unnecessary and is also the only option available to Monkey Helpline as it moves towards
establishing a benchmark sanctuary and rehabilitation facility on the land recently donated to it.
Monkey Helpline takes a stand
“Monkey Helpline will not be gagged by the NSPCA when we feel criticism of their actions, or at times lack thereof, is justified. We will act in accordance with our organisation’s objectives and will continue to hold our heads high and display our Monkey Helpline branding with pride,” Smit said.
NSPCA warning not complied with
The NSPCA gave Monkey Helpline two weeks to provide it with veterinarian reports on all of the monkeys confined in parrot cages and veterinary justifications for each of these animals being confined to these cages.
“This warning has not been complied with, and we, to date, have received no vets’ reports on these animals, and Carol and Steve have confirmed that the vet has not been out to examine these animals. We have now extended this warning by an additional week. If these animals are indeed under veterinary care and treatment, it is unacceptable and appalling that they are left unattended for three weeks,” Hay added.
