Residents face jail for killing stray monkey

EMAKHANDENI suburb residents who killed a stray monkey which they said was being used to bewitch them face up to six months imprisonment for unlawfully killing the wild animal, an official has said. In an incident of cruelty reported by our sister paper uMthunywa this week, residents killed the stray monkey on Tuesday.

The monkey was reportedly getting into people's homes, getting food from refrigerators, relieving itself in toilets and thereafter retiring to sleep in people's blankets. It was killed by residents who ambushed and beat it to death after it had sneaked into one of the houses in the suburb.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) told Chronicle that the killers, if apprehended, face up to six months in prison. SPCA Animal Inspector Dumisani Sibanda said the offenders would be charged under the Cruelty to Animals Act as well as the Wildlife Act.

"According to the Cruelty to Animals Act, offenders pay up to $200 or six months imprisonment or both. However, we haven't received a report about that incident but we will act accordingly if it's true," said Sibanda.

He said offenders are tried after a report is made to them or the police and a docket for the crime is opened.

"It all depends on the police investigations and manner in which the animal was killed but they will definitely be made to pay or face imprisonment because they don't have a right or licence to kill the animal," he said.

Sibanda said the monkey could have been lost or could have fallen or jumped from a train as it passed through Emakhandeni suburb.

He urged residents to contact the relevant authorities when they encounter stray wild animals. "If they see any wildlife, they should call the SPCA, the parks department or Chipangali to collect the animals because it's an offence to kill them," said Sibanda.

It was reported that children who first saw the monkey told reporters that the animal gained entry into the home through the window, proceeded to the kitchen and ate food that was in the refrigerator, used the toilet like a human being before retiring to bed.

"We saw it jumping through the window, into that house, went into a bedroom, jumped on top of a wardrobe before sleeping," said Terrence.

Said a woman who declined to be named: "This monkey had become a menace in this area, it would scrap doors in order to gain entry, it entered one woman's home while she was sleeping and when she woke up, screamed on top of her voice, forcing the monkey to flee."

The residents said they believed the monkey belonged to a certain woman in the area who bred it as it showed human traits in its actions. The dead monkey was put in a sack by residents who said they would burn it rather than call the parks department as the animal had become a menace.

Efforts to get a comment from Zimparks spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo were fruitless as she was unreachable on her mobile phone.