BABY vervet monkeys are deliberately being targeted by pellet gun-wielding residents. This was the concern raised by Monkey Helpline’s Carol Booth last Friday.
She said that in the past week she and fellow monkey activist, Steve Smit, had been called out to 11 baby vervet rescues, four of which had been shot with pellet guns. Only one of the pellet victims survived.
According to Booth, there has been a definite increase in baby vervet shootings. “In the past we had such isolated incidents that we publicly expressed outrage with every shooting. Now it has become the norm. The most frightening thing is that they are not only occurring in isolated areas: it is increasing across the board. Vets have also reported an increase in pets that are being brought in with pellet wounds,” she said.
Booth added that she felt like they were fighting a losing battle in terms of saving the vervet monkeys, and stressed that, unless something drastic is done to protect the primates, they will soon become extinct. “I really feel like we are driving a mortuary van most of the time, because rather than transporting injured monkeys, we are mostly transporting bodies,” she said.
While taking to the Northglen News on Friday, Booth spoke about a rescue in uMhlanga, where a 12-week-old baby vervet had been shot in the chest.
“The baby died in my arms while we rushed to the vet. It is one of the hardest things to deal with,” she said. Smit condemned the shooting of monkeys, especially the babies, and called it ‘cowardly and callous’.
The duo dismissed residents’ excuses, and insisted that baby vervets posed no danger to humans (especially 12-week-old babies), as they are too young to raid people’s homes.
“People have used the excuse that they shoot at the monkeys because they are afraid and were merely protecting themselves and their property. But there is no excuse for shooting a baby vevet,” said Booth.
