Monkey Business
‘PSSST! Wanna buy a macaque? A ma-what, my good man? A macaque, squire. A monkey. A monkey. For a macaque? Ill give you a pony. A pony? Shetland or Dartmoor?
|
| You pay peanuts, you get a second-rate monkey |
These days, you can scarcely go into the Dog & Duck pub opposite Anorak Towers without being offered any number of exotic animals on the cheap.
But our advice to potential customers is that, however desperate you are for a cotton-top tamarind, think carefully before parting with your hard-earned.
The Independent says that the animals in question are likely to be as kosher as a pork chop.
Professional thieves are apparently behind a spate of raids on zoos, highlighting what the paper says is the increasingly criminal trade in rare and exotic creatures.
A small monkey, such as a marmoset or a squirrel monkey, can apparently fetch about £1,000 (or two monkeys) on the black market.
A common tortoise (which has the advantage of being pretty easy to catch) sells for £200, a pedigree Labrador goes for more than £500 and a single koi carp can fetch more than £2,000.
But the bulk of the trade is in rare birds, which range in value from £500 for an African grey parrot to £10,000 for a green-winged macaw.
The Indy says almost 40 monkeys have been stolen from Britains zoos and animal centres this year.
And some monkeys are just plain unlucky Joe (a baby squirrel monkey) was recently stolen for the second time in a matter of months from the Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon.
Tracey Moore, director of the Trust, said the latest raid was a complete shock.
They had by-passed the security, she said. It was someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Police say they are looking for two silvery marmosets and a tortoise believed to answer to the name of Dave.’
Posted: 14th, September 2004 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
