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Dozens Of Monkeys Rescued From Illegal Meat Trade

Last Updated:
05-05-06 at 1:00PM

Dozens of monkeys destined for a gruesome trade in South Africa have
been rescued by zoos across the U.S., and some of the monkeys will now
be living at the San Diego Zoo.

Thirty-three monkeys from five species were imported to the U.S. and
were distributed to six zoos, including the San Diego Zoo.

The monkeys, aged one to five years old, were found as bushmeat trade
orphans in the markets of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"These monkey species, along with gorillas and chimpanzee, are among
the animals slaughtered and sold for their meat in the markets of
equatorial Africa," stated Jim Maddy, executive director of the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums. "Orphaned baby primates are often
taken off of the dead adults and sold in the markets of these
countries. These orphans tend to end up alone in substandard
conditions, or are eaten when they are older.

The San Diego Zoo learned of the monkeys in April 2005, when someone
called asking about how the animals should be priced for sale,
something the zoo does not do.

"As stunned as we were by the call, we thought that maybe there was an
opportunity to provide these animals with good homes with their own
species in the U.S. at AZA-accredited zoos," said Karen Kilman,
associate curator of mammals at the zoo.

The monkeys arrived in March and went through quarantine before being
shipped to their respective zoos.

The monkeys will eventually be paired for mating to support a strong
population of their species in AZA zoos.