A man who allegedly killed a monkey in Tembisa was expected to appear before the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court on April 18.
The suspect, who is known to the community, set his dogs on the monkey and assaulted it until the animal died.
DeVilliers Katywa, from Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), said when he arrived at Ecaleni Primary School on Friday at 5am the monkey hadn’t been caught in the trap he set the previous day.
“It tried to come down to the cage and it stole one banana which was bait. When it tried to get into the cage for more, residents made some noise and it became scared. It jumped from the trees into the houses,” said Katywa.
The vervet monkey was spotted on the streets of Ecaleni Section on April 14. The stray animal was then chased by the community until it climbed up a tree at a local school.
The school’s principal called in the SPCA and CLAW to rescue the animal.
Community members hurled stones at the animal, trying to get it down.
CLAW employees set traps to catch the monkey but community members made a lot of noise, which frightened the animal.
Traps were left overnight.
Residents suspected the creature was used by one of the community members for witchcraft purposes.
Cora Bailey, from CLAW, refuted the community’s claims.
She said the monkey was only walking along looking for a new troop of monkeys to start a new family.
Ms Bailey said it is a culture that has been happening for thousands of years where male monkeys, once they reach sexual maturity, have to move along to find a new family to avoid incest and create genetic diversity.
“This is a social animal and it is harmless. The community shouldn’t be scared but should do everything to protect our wildlife – it’s our heritage,” said Ms Bailey.
Mandi Smallhorne said if the community had allowed it, the animal would have been removed from the area the following day.
“This was a frightened teenage monkey trying to find its way out,” she said.
Ms Bailey said a case of cruelty to animals was opened under the Animal Protection Act, number 71 of 1962.
“We are also opening a case of intimidation as the suspect threatened to attack and burn our vehicles,” said Ms Bailey.
