Vervet monkey rescued in Bekkersdal
'The public is urged to refrain from keeping wild animals as pets and visiting facilities that keep wild animals in captivity for entertainment purposes' – SPCA inspector.
Wild animals should stay in the wild and not be kept as pets.
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RandWest SPCA inspector Rene van Straten stated that the SPCA is vehemently opposed to the keeping and/ or breeding of any indigenous and exotic wild species in captivity for purposes other than bona fide conservation or rehabilitation in facilities approved by the council.
The public is urged to refrain from keeping wild animals as pets, and visiting facilities that keep wild animals in captivity for entertainment purposes.”
This after an SPCA staff member happened to overhear a conversation about someone who spoke of a monkey in Bekkersdal, and that when people walk past the corridor, the monkey touches them.
“With a lot of investigations, we got the address of where the monkey was but we were then advised that it’s a very difficult man so we had a lot of trouble getting the right help, and then eventually called Community Led Animal Welfare (Claw) to help us deal with the situation with the removal of the Vervet monkey who was kept tied up in a backyard in Bekkersdal.”
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Rene added they explained to the man that the monkey couldn’t be kept like that (the man was a sangoma who kept the monkey for medical reasons). They explained to him that it doesn’t work like that and he was more than willing to hand over the monkey to the SPCA and Claw.
The Vervet was underweight and completely frightened.
“The Vervet is now being rehabilitated, healthy, happy and on his way to where he belongs – the wild! We thank Claw for their determination as this was not an easy in-and-out removal and we faced a lot of challenges before the vervet was safely in our care,” stated Rene.
