Almost 50 Monkeys Rescued From Poor Living Conditions in Africa

Almost 50 monkeys that were treated badly were rescued in a South African private zoo north of Johannesburg on Saturday. The dehydrated and sick monkeys were taken to a care facility where they will receive proper care.

An international animal rights group, International Primate Rescue (IPR), said that spider, capuchin, and squirrel monkeys were among the 49 primates that were confiscated from the cages of the garden nursery. KLTV reported that the monkeys have been held captive to entertain people coming to buy plants. Concerned visitors reported to the rescue group about the monkeys' poor conditions.

Some monkeys were found to be malnourished with their head appearing to be too large for their bodies. IPR founder Sue Mousley said that owner of the Little Falls garden center failed to provide a proper and healthy living conditions for the monkey even if they were given several chances to do something about it. After the last failed attempt, the organization secured a court order allowing them to remove the primate from their present location and transfer them to IPR's care facility.

"This is clear animal cruelty, no monkey should have to live like this" Mousley told The Associated Press. She also said that the garden center once had 96 monkeys but many had died because they were not fed properly or was treated humanely. "Although the sanctuary already houses a large number of monkeys," she said "I could not stand by while the monkeys at the nursery starved," she continued.

The group found that the monkeys were given very little food and water while living inside dirty cages. According to News Daily, when Mousley and her team found them they were is a terrible condition. "They are still terribly underweight, some of them look a bit dehydrated ... the condition of most of those primates is just simply not acceptable," she said.

Muldersdrift police station spokesperson Hitler Ngwenya said that if there is a need for a case to be opened, then they would be obliged to. "Doctors will perform their investigation in terms of determining the condition of the animals and a report will be provided," the spokesperson said.

The rescue operation took place in the early hours of the morning after the monkeys were sedated.