For the 54th time in recent months, another green vervet monkey was captured Tuesday morning in Ramla by municipal veterinary service workers at the Nesher factory.
Dr. Roytal Orbach, director of the municipal veterinary service, said, "Several weeks ago, we received a report about a monkey seen in the city near a main road. We searched for it for an extended period but couldn't locate it. After some time, we received a call from the Nesher factory, which told us the monkey had come to them."
"Veterinary service workers went to the location and discovered the monkey was on very high poles in the factory, and there was great difficulty reaching it. In order not to endanger it, several traps were left, and this morning it was finally caught. The monkey was transferred to the Israeli Primate Sanctuary for continued care and examinations," Orbach added.
The Nature and Parks Authority reported that this is the 54th green vervet monkey captured in Israel since the beginning of March, when the first monkey was caught. Uri Laniel, manager of wildlife in captivity at the Nature and Parks Authority, said, "Many owners apparently understood how complex it is to keep a monkey at home, and simply released them into nature. Monkeys are sensitive, intelligent creatures that seek their own kind. Imagine being thrown into nature that isn't yours, without any similar creature beside you – this is terrible abuse. A monkey is not a pet, it's a wild animal whose place is in nature in its natural habitat, or in good sanctuaries and zoos if there's no choice, and not in Israeli nature where it can become an invasive species."
The Nature and Parks Authority stated that "if you know of a person keeping a wild animal illegally, or you encounter an exotic animal in Israeli nature, you are requested to contact the Nature and Parks Authority hotline at 3639* or Israel Police hotline 100."
