EDITOR – I refer to the article in Highway Mail – ‘Monkey suffers concussion’ dated 21 August. I am very sad when I hear about the ignorance of some people concerning animal behaviour. This poor male monkey happened to find himself in someone’s lounge, as quoted, ‘sitting there looking quite normal’, surely not because he wanted to make himself comfortable in the lounge, but because he didn’t know how to get out.
What was required was to stay calm without confronting the animal, and slowly make an escape route available to him through a door, window or gate. He would have quickly taken the opportunity to leave without harming anyone. By confronting the monkey with a broom, he was forced to defend himself.
Looking at his poor face is it evident that he suffered concussion following the beating, and that was the reason he was vomiting. We live in a beautiful country with monkeys, eagles, hawks, snakes, beautiful birds and many other creatures. If you don’t like them or if you are not comfortable living with them, you can move elsewhere. They cannot.
If you want respect from them, you must give them the respect they deserve.
Respect our wildlife
Hillcrest
