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6 March 2015
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Monkeys in the firing line >> It is cruel and illegal to shoot monkeys KALISHA NAICKER
U
PPER Highway residents have come under fire from the Monkey Helpline's Steve Smit, saying the shooting of Vervet monkeys is an act of "cowardly behaviour". He said that during the past few weeksthehelplinehasbeencalledout to rescue 10 such monkeys that had been shot with pellet guns. "At the first incident we rescued an adult male Vervet in Kloof Falls Road after he had been shot in the face with a lead pellet and then attacked by a
dog. He died at the vet," said Smit. "A day later we rescued a threemonth-old Vervet in Meadow Lane, Kloof. She required emergency surgery to repair intestinal damage caused by the lead air gun pellet. Her condition remains critical." In another incident last week, Monkey Helpline rescued a one-yearold Vervet that was shot in Kloof View Road in Forest Hills. The Vervet had to undergo emergency surgery to repair the life-threatening damage caused to his intestines by a lead pellet. "We also had two monkeys, a two-
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A baby Vervet that was shot in Meadow Lane Road, Kloof. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
year-old and a three-month-old that had been shot into the head in Nzinga Road and Mac Mac Drive in Waterfall. Both died," he said. "In Westriding Hillcrest two monkeys, an adult female and a juvenile male were shot. They were declared dead on the scene. An adult female was also shot in Glen Gray Drive in Waterfall Two. She was paralysed afterthepelletsmashedherspineand had to be euthanised." Smit said the reality is that people think it is okay to shoot monkeys. "It's not. It is cruel, unnecessary and illegal. Over 80% of the monkeys
we rescue, for whatever reason, have lead pellets, fired from an air gun, in their bodies," he said. In terms of the Animal Protection Act and the Provincial Conservation Ordinance, it is an offence to shoot monkeys or any other animal, and anybody seen doing so must be reported to the police and SPCA immediately. “Monkeys are having a hard time. It is bad enough, from their perspective, that humans have moved into their areas, but as we introduce more security measures and are increasingly intolerant of the presence of
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troops, they suffer increasing cruel human-related injuries and deaths. "Monkeys can linger in agony for twoweeksbeforetheydieafterbeen shot with pellets. “There is no need to shoot a monkey or any other animal. There is plenty of information available about monkeys that will enable a person who has a problem with them to resolve that problem humanely," said Smit. Important information includes that monkeys are protected by the law and are not classified as vermin. Monkeysdonotcarryortransmit rabies. There has never been a reported caseofarabidmonkeyinSouthAfrica. This can be confirmed at the state vet. Monkeys do not randomly attack people, and cases of humans getting bitten by monkeys are extremely rare. When this happens there are almost always identifiable aggravating factors which, if recognised, would have prevented the incident from occurring. Monkeys do not randomly attack dogs or other pets, and where dogs are bitten by monkeys this happens when the monkeys are biting back after being attacked by the dogs. For more information see the helpline Facebook page, Monkey Helpline, and visit our website on www.monkeyhelpline.co.za