ANIMAL rights activists are calling for a crackdown on monkey ownership after a spate of highly publicised abuses.

Live monkeys have been spotted tied to car roofs and truck bumpers being driven at speed around Bahrain’s roads in recent weeks.

Such mistreatment has sparked outrage online, in the GDN’s letters pages and in the offices of the Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA).

A spokeswoman for the society’s executive committee described the abuse as ‘abhorrent’.

‘The BSPCA believes that non-indigenous animals such as monkeys, which are highly intelligent, sentient beings, should not be kept in captivity and ‘‹most ‘‹certainly not treated in the manner shown in photos recently circulated where the owners are blatantly abusing the animal,’ she said.

‘We would be delighted if the ‘‹government introduced regulations so that anyone currently owning a monkey would ‘‹be required to supply information on where it originated from, how long the owner has had it and ‘‹the need to ‘‹obtain a licence allowing them to legally keep it.

‘‹”‹Currently, the only way ‘‹to solve the problem ‘‹is for anyone seen with a monkey to be ‘‹reported to the police who ‘‹will ‘‹prosecute and fine’‹ them’‹’‹ for owning an illegally imported animal’‹’‹.

‘The monkey should ‘‹also ‘‹be ‘‹taken away from them, but that leaves the question of where they would be kept once removed.’

As things stand, the only existing facility that can properly care for primates in Bahrain is Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve, whose facilities would have to be expanded if there were some sort of monkey amnesty, the spokeswoman said.

‘One way ‘‹to regulate the situation would ‘‹be for the authorities to ask all owners of monkeys to register with the ‘‹ministry concerned and ‘‹get each animal microchipped and neutered to prevent breeding for profit and issued with a licence giving the microchip number,’ she added.

‘This licence should be renewed every year and eventually the number of monkeys would dwindle.

‘The authorities ‘‹should ‘‹’‹actually’‹ go and ‘‹inspect the conditions that the monkey is kept in to make sure that they are suitable and that the animal is not being mistreated, whether intentional’‹ly’‹ or not’‹.’‹

‘Any reports ‘‹of abuse, ‘‹such as we’ve seen lately’‹, ‘‹should be investigated by the police’‹ with the animal taken away from the offender’‹ and a fine imposed.’‹’

When contacted by the GDN, an official from the Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry’s animal wealth directorate said that they could not do anything about monkey owners who did not have the correct ownership documents as ‘there is no law to confiscate their animals’.

‘By law, importing monkeys is banned because they can carry serious diseases from their countries of origin,’ he said.

‘However, some were imported a long time ago and have been bred and looked after by families in Bahrain.

Legislation

‘Most of these families have legal ownership documents with a valid health certificate, but some get them from pet stores, which don’t offer ownership documents.

‘We cannot do anything about those who don’t have ownership documents and there is no law to confiscate their animals.’

The GDN reported last year that a new animal rights bill had been approved by the National Assembly and ratified by His Majesty King Hamad.

This new legislation is being rolled out across the GCC and aims to unify ‘agricultural policy’ by bringing member states in line with international standards on animal health.

However, no known case has yet been brought to court in Bahrain under this legislation.

shahlaa@gdn.com.bh