A total of 49 monkeys have been rescued from near death at the Little Falls Garden Centre in Muldersdrift.
International Primate Rescue (IPR) rescued the monkeys on 23 April at about 6.30am after obtaining a court order. Sue Mousley, founder and director of IPR said, “We were alerted about the situation and have been involved for about a month.”
The monkeys were living in unfit conditions and many were malnourished. The monkeys ranged from spider monkeys, cotton tops, squirrel and capuchin monkeys. NSPCA wildlife protection inspector Isabel Wentzel said, “We have visited the centre before and could not find any problem with the enclosures. We did, however, discuss a diet adjustment for the monkeys.”
“It seems that in the last month the treatment of the monkeys and their enclosure had quickly worsened,” explained Wentzel.
Mousley added that on numerous occasions IPR was in contact with the owner, Derek Fourie, to guide him on rehabilitation and educate him on how to improve the treatment of the animals. “We had visited the centre once before and on the second visit, the conditions the monkeys were living in, had deteriorated and we knew we had to step in,” added Mousley.
According to Mousley, Fourie had stopped answering phone calls and emails. “This is when we became really worried and immediately got a court order to remove the animals off of the property,” said Mousley.
Fourie explained that he had never received a warning or letter from the NSPCA to state that the animals were being mistreated or malnourished. “When the NSPCA came here they could find nothing wrong with the monkeys or the enclosures.”
“We were about to start feeding the monkeys when IPR broke the locks of the cages and began taking the monkeys,” said Fourie. According to him, the team chased the monkeys around for three hours before they were all caught.
Fourie stated that he wanted the NSPCA on the scene on the morning the monkeys were taken, or a private vet to examine the monkeys and ensure their health and wellbeing. “I do not believe IPR had any reason to remove my monkeys, they have all been rescued from abused homes and we have never mistreated them.”
Muldersdrift SAPS were called in to ensure that the centre hand over the monkeys without any complications. “IPR had to make sure we rescued all of the monkeys in one swoop because we were worried about what would happen to the ones we left behind,” added Mousley.
According to Muldersdrift SAPS spokesperson Warrant Officer Hitler Ngwenya, “The animals were peacefully removed from the premises in terms of Section 8 (1) of the Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962.”
Fourie firmly stands by his opinion that the monkeys looked skinny because they had not been sterilised. “When monkeys are in heat they chase each other around and sometimes fight, this is why one or two of them have injuries,” added Fourie.
Inspector Wentzel added, “It is true that sometimes monkeys can be more slender if they aren’t sterilised and they can have serious fights.” She added that it still did not explain why the enclosures and state of the monkeys had deteriorated so rapidly.
“We have not been allowed to see our monkeys at the rescue centre. I still cannot believe what has happened because our cages are massive and the monkeys were happy,” said Fourie.
The monkeys are now recovering at the IPR centre in Pretoria. The birds were deemed healthy enough to stay at the centre while the tortoises have been taken to Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD).
All photographs supplied.
