Wingham Wildlife Park (Engeland) redt tien aapjes uit illegale handel in Israel

Park saves monkeys from illegal pet trade

25-02-2010 Your Canterbury News, UK


Six monkeys have been saved from the Israeli illegal pet trade by Wingham Wildlife Park. The primates were rescued by a charity which trained monkeys to help people who were paralysed from the neck down.

The charity, Helping Hands, trained tufted capuchin monkeys to give their owners a drink through a straw and operate televisions, fans and doors.

The six animals now in Wingham were part of the charity’s breeding programme rather than being trained, but the project was abandoned and the monkeys were given to the Israeli Primate Sanctuary Foundation.

Having previously rescued a group of Barbary Macaques from a sanctuary in the Netherlands, when keepers at Wingham Wildlife Park heard about the animals they decided they had to help out.

The park’s new arrivals flew in to Heathrow on February 14, but they have to be quarantined at Wingham in case they have contagious diseases such as rabies.

Tony Binskin, Wingham Wildlife Park’s owner, also helps take care of the monkeys. He said: “The capuchins are very clever animals.
“They are quite fun because if you give them onions and garlic they rub it all over each other. They do it in the wild to keep insects of each other. It is quite good fun to watch.

“We give them lots to do. We give them dog treats where they have a ball and have to get the food out of it, and things to keep their minds occupied. When they are allowed outside they will have more things to do and see.
“The quarantine is six months, but we hope to build an enclosure for them and get government approval so we can move them there before the end of their quarantine time.”

But even though the monkeys are not in their outdoor enclosure, people can still visit them in the park.

Mr Biskin said: “People can see them through the glass in quarantine now which is actually good for the primates because they can see lots of things going on and it keeps them occupied as well.”
Four squirrel monkeys were also rescued from an illegal pet trader in Israel, and all ten animals are making a quick recovery from poor treatment.

Mr Biskin said: “The monkeys are actually in not too bad a condition. The Israel centre has put them on to a good diet so their fur is mostly back, although we have a couple with some fur missing.”

(Bron: http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk/)