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Capuchin Monkey Reunited With Owner

 

Monkey Must Be On Public Display At Least Six Times Per Year

POSTED: 7:30 a.m. EST December 17, 2002

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- A capuchin monkey seized by the state earlier this year has been returned to its owner.

The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife last week issued an exhibitor's permit to Diane Caltabiano, 39, that allows her to keep the monkey at her Washington Township home.

In return, Caltabiano must put the monkey, known as the Amazing Moochie, on public display at least six times per year. During these appearances, the monkey must be kept in a cage to avoid direct contact with people, said Al Ivany, a Fish and Wildlife spokesman.

The monkey was seized in August by state and federal authorities after they received an anonymous tip that it was being kept at Caltabiano's Gloucester County home. New Jersey law requires that capuchin monkeys be licensed, because they are considered a potentially dangerous species, and also bans the sale of the animal.

Caltabiano was fined $350 after she admitted possessing the monkey without a permit. She had bought it in September 2000 from a local businessman, Martino Cartier, who purchased it from a Pennsylvania breeder. He was fined $500 for failing to get a permit for the monkey.