AR-News: Canadian primates cleared to go to WAO

Sun Apr 11 20:42:54 EDT 2004

From: primfocus at waste.org

Primates Seized in High-Profile
Cruelty Case Finally Cleared
to Leave BC for Texas Sanctuary

See <http://www.spca.bc.ca/primates>www.spca.bc.ca/primates for more 
information.

More than a year after being rescued in a high-profile SPCA cruelty 
investigation in Kaslo, BC, four primates are leaving the Surrey SPCA for 
their new home at a Texas sanctuary. The case highlights the suffering 
associated with the growing exotic pet trade in BC and the cost and 
complexity of dealing with discarded and abused exotic animals.

March 18, 2004. For immediate release. This week BC SPCA officials will 
transport four Barbary macaques (apes) across the border to Blaine, 
Washington, where they will be met to begin a journey to Sparks, Nevada. 
There the primates will enter a federal quarantine centre in preparation 
for transfer to their permanent home at the Wild Animal Orphanage in San 
Antonio, Texas. This happy ending for Cinnamon, Teaspoon, Barbie and baby 
Jethro (born shortly after his mother Cinnamon's arrival at the SPCA) comes 
more than a year after they were rescued in an SPCA cruelty investigation 
case that made national headlines.

It took more than 14 months of intensive research and work by the SPCA to 
locate an accredited facility that was willing to accept the Barbary 
macaques and to negotiate the many complex steps required to obtain permits 
to transport exotic animals to the United States. (A Japanese Snow Monkey 
named Jeffrey, seized in the same investigation, has been denied entry into 
the U.S. due to his status on an endangered species appendix and efforts 
continue to find an accredited facility in Canada willing to accept him). 
The animals have been living at the Surrey SPCA since their seizure in 
November 2002. "We're delighted that the primates will get the on-going 
care and enrichment they need and deserve," says Craig Daniell, CEO of the 
BC SPCA, "but this case highlights the enormous price of keeping exotic 
animals in captivity - both in terms of animal suffering and in the actual 
cost of rescuing and relocating the animals seized from neglectful 
guardians." Daniell says the SPCA is deeply concerned about the growing 
number of exotic animals that are being kept and bred in BC. "There are 
currently no laws in Canada preventing the sale and trade of exotic animals 
and it has led to immense suffering for exotic animals and very expensive 
and complicated cruelty investigations for us."

So far, the SPCA has spent more than $20,000 in cruelty investigation costs 
in the primate case, a further $30,000 for temporary enclosures and care 
for animals at the Surrey SPCA during the past year and $20,000 in costs to 
relocate these animals to the United States. "These cases are extremely 
costly and they place an enormous strain on the SPCA's very limited 
resources," says Daniell.

The primate's new home, the Wild Animal Orphanage, is a far cry from the 
dark, dirty garage that housed the animals before the SPCA intervened and 
seized them in a major cruelty investigation in late 2002. The primates 
were among more than 100 exotic, domestic and farm animals in various 
states of injury, malnutrition and distress removed from a rural property 
in Kaslo, BC. "The primates were confined in a small space at the back of a 
dark garage with no access to sunlight, no room to move freely and little 
enrichment or stimulation," says Daniell. "These are wild animals with very 
specific physical, social and intellectual needs and it was tragic to see 
the conditions they had been forced to live in for years." The owners of 
the animals have been charged with several counts of animal cruelty and 
will appear in court in May 2004 as a result of the SPCA investigation.

The SPCA built temporary indoor/outdoor enclosures for the primates at its 
Surrey Shelter in the Lower Mainland and carefully monitored the animals' 
health, diet and enrichment for more than a year while they searched for a 
permanent home. "After their isolation it was wonderful to see how 
enthusiastically they responded to little things, like having enrichment 
toys to play with and branches to climb," says Hugh Nichols, an SPCA staff 
member who helped care for the primates. "It was amazing to watch the first 
time Teaspoon went outside and felt the sunshine on his face. He lay on his 
back in the grass, stretched his arms behind his head and just drank in the 
whole experience."

Nichols says the Surrey Shelter staff worked hard to come up with new ideas 
to keep the intelligent and easily bored primates amused. "We changed their 
toys all the time but their absolute favourite was the non-breakable 
mirrors we gave them," says Nichols. "We also put a larger mirror outside 
their enclosures and they spent hours watching themselves - they were 
fascinated with their own images." He adds that staff quickly became 
familiar with the individual personality traits and preferences of each of 
the primates. "They definitely had very particular tastes," says Nichols. 
"Jeffrey, for instance, refuses to eat the skin on his peanuts. He rolls 
them around on the ground until he rubs all the skin off before he eats them."

While the SPCA staff will miss the bonds they have developed with the 
primates, they are thrilled to see them moving to their permanent home. "We 
did everything we could to keep them happy, but they need to be in a 
sanctuary where their needs can be met for the rest of their lives," says 
Nichols.

The BC SPCA urgently needs funds to support the primate's move to the Wild 
Animal Orphanage. Donations can be made online, by calling 604-681-7271 or 
1-800-665-1868, or by mail to BC SPCA Administration Centre, 1245 East 7th 
Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 1R1.

--END--

Contacts: Hugh Coghill, Senior Animal Protection Officer, BC SPCA, 
250.213.1689; Lorie Chortyk, General Manager, Community Relations, BC SPCA, 
604.647.1316 (office) or 604.830.7179 (cell); Carol Asvestas, Wild Animal 
Orphanage, San Antonio, Texas, 210.688.9038.

the wild, cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage. he is in front of it - axel munthe

"Never doubt that a small group of dedicated citizens can change the world. 
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."      Margaret Mead
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