CHENNAI: An injured baby Bonnet Macaque, a schedule-1 species, rescued in Vellore about 10 months back was taken to Coimbatore and kept as a pet at the corporation's animal birth control (ABC) centre run by local NGO Prani Mithran which is a clear violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Private individuals handling and keeping a wild animal in their possession without any authorisation is illegal and punishable under wildlife laws.
The NGO has, however, defended keeping the animal by arguing that it is unwell. They further said they did not have a problem giving it to the forest department if the department can ensure its survival.
The baby monkey was reportedly found injured in Vellore in December last year. A forest guard, who rescued the monkey, handed it to the NGO for necessary treatment, which was holding an animal camp at that time.
Ideally, after giving treatment, the Prani Mithran should have handed over the monkey to the forest department, but it chose not to and housed the animal in a room in the ABC centre where dog surgeries are done and there are high chances of cross infections spreading. There is also the threat of zoonotic diseases.
The issue came to light after SPCA cruelty inspector V Balakrishnan visited the ABC centre, based on a tip-off, and found the monkey kept alongside other cats and dogs.
"I have collected video evidence and informed the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). The forest department team came, but didn't take any action."
The ABC centre itself was kept in a most unhygienic manner. "The operation table and rooms are not cleaned regularly and the medical waste was also found disposed of inappropriately," Balakrishnan said. Shruti Vinod Raj, member, Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, also said the board had received multiple complaints against Prani Mithran.
N Jayaraj, district forest officer of Coimbatore division, told TNIE that he had already ordered the staff to rescue the monkey from the NGO." However, when the team went to the ABC centre on Tuesday, the monkey was not found and concerned people were also not there.
When contacted, VM Prattiba Jaisri from Prani Mithran said: "We saved a dying baby monkey and nurtured it for close to a year. The bottom half of the animal is paralysed. It will not survive in the wild. I don't claim ownership of the animal and don't have a problem in giving it to the forest department, if they tell me how they are going to ensure the survivability of the animal."