The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[David Helder <dhelder AT umich.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:36:00 -0800
From: glen mccready <gkm AT petting-zoo.net>
To: 0xdeadbeef AT petting-zoo.net
Subject: Monkeys the new weapon of Paris gangs 
Resent-Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:36:04 -0800 (PST)
Resent-From: 0xdeadbeef AT petting-zoo.net


Forwarded-by: William Knowles <wk AT c4i.org>

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4068525,00.html

Jon Henley in Paris
Guardian
Wednesday September 27, 2000


With pitbulls, dobermans and rottweilers under fire from the French
authorities, youth gangs in the depressed city suburbs have discovered
an alternative way to intimidate their rivals - with attack monkeys.

"They're ultra-fashionable," said Didier Lecourbe, a police officer
from the depressed Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. "There are dozens of
them. Kids take them out on leads, and even carry baby monkeys around
in nappies. But these animals can be very dangerous indeed."

Imported illegally through Spain from Gibraltar, Morocco or Algeria,
the Barbary apes are known for their powerful limbs, sharp teeth and
short tempers. Veterinary experts say they can be turned into
frightening and effective weapons.

"They live naturally on rocks or in a desert environment," said
Marie-Claude Bomsel of the natural history museum in Paris. "Removed
from their natural habitat, they can become highly aggressive. They
bite, and their favoured method of attack is to hurl themselves at
people's heads."

Police believe as many as 500 Barbary apes may have been smuggled into
France in the past two years. Bought for about 30 each by youngsters
visiting their families in north Africa, they change hands on the
council estates around Paris for as much as 300.

"Now the authorities have cracked down on pitbulls and the rest, apes
look like becoming the new weapon of choice," said Mr Lecourbe. "We've
heard of monkey-fights being run in tower block basements."

Ms Bomsel said the museum had received dozens of telephone calls from
owners wanting to know how to deal with violent monkeys, or how to get
rid of them. "The zoos don't want to know because apes that have grown
up outside their natural environment will not live with others," she
said. A spokeswoman for the the society for the protection of animals
said the society had taken in more than 40 apes in the past 18 months
and its Paris animal homes were full.