The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[Jack Szwergold <jack AT royaljournal.com>]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/koco/20001206/lo/264974_1.html

Wednesday December 06 07:15 PM EST
Monkey Siezed After He Nips Boy
Woman Questions Animal Control Guidelines

A woman is raising questions about Oklahoma City's procedures for picking up
vicious animals after her monkey seized after he nipped a
12-year-old boy.

The monkey, Winston, was with a caregiver at the time at a local Home Depot,
said Winston's owner, Mary Myrick.

"The boy was bitten ­- it did break the skin -­ so it counts as a bite for
our purposes," Jeff Allen with Oklahoma City Animal Control said.

On Monday, Animal Control tracked down Winston through the Exotic Animals
Registry to Myrick's place of business. Officers tried to seize the monkey
for observation, and then things got ugly.

Office workers were outraged. One woman was arrested for assaulting an
animal control worker.

"It was a pretty uncontrollable atmosphere and it was very frightening,"
Myrick said.

Eventually, police and animal welfare took Winston for observation. He has
since been returned to Myrick, who was hoping for a better
result.

"By the standards that they were dealing with, it appears to me that if you
had a pet hamster, and you went next door and he bit someone, he could be
classified as a vicious animal."

The 12-year-old boy that Winston nipped is doing fine.

The monkey is now under a 30-day home quarantine to make sure he does not
have any diseases.

-- 
Jack Szwergold | jack AT royaljournal.com | AIM: RoyalJack2001
Royal Journal | http://www.royaljournal.com/
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