Suspected monkey poisoning in St Lucia
One of the dead monkeys was hanging off a tree branch while the other had seemingly collapsed on the roof of a house
ST Lucia residents are seething over the suspected poisoning of two vervet monkeys in what is supposed to be a nature lover’s paradise.
One of the dead monkeys was hanging off a tree branch while the other had seemingly collapsed on the roof of a house.
‘As we found no marks on their bodies at all, our immediate reaction was poison,’ said the resident, who asked to remain anonymous.
On speaking with a number of people in St Lucia, the ZO has found out that some residents have an intense dislike of the monkeys’ presence and have, on occasion, threatened to shoot them.
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Numerous residents suspect that those who have threatened to shoot monkeys resorted to poisoning them instead, owing to the noise that would be made by discharging a weapon in a small residential area.
While poisoning any animal is a violation of the Animals Protection Act, the consequences on other wildlife, including mongooses, birds, owls and antelope, could be disastrous.
This incident comes on the back of a mass poisoning in uMdloti in which an entire troop ate bread that had been poisoned.
Carol Booth of Monkey Helpline in Durban reported that the youngest vervet to have been poisoned was clinging to its mother when the mother fell from the tree and died.
The juvenile sustained a skull fracture from the fall.
More than 21 monkeys were poisoned.
A dog was also poisoned in the same incident and since then, a troop of mongoose has reportedly also been poisoned in Durban.
A private investigator has reportedly tracked down a suspect and a witness in this case of mass animal cruelty.
While vervet monkeys are not protected by conservation laws, people who are found to harm them intentionally can be charged and sentenced under the Animals Protection Act.
A number of organisations worldwide agree that there is a link between animal abuse and abuse of people, stating that people who have the mental capacity to abuse animals would easily graduate to abusing people, and that even human victims of abuse could start abusing animals as the cycle of abuse is perpetuated.
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