Just two days after a troop of monkeys were poisoned in Umdloti, a private investigator says he has identified both a suspect and a witness to the crime.
Sean Peirce from the Coast to Coast Special & Private Investigations said they were busy putting the evidence together, which had to be complete before any arrests could be made.
“So far we have a witness and we are very confident about the evidence we currently have. However we still need to pull all the evidence that might be available,” said Peirce.
The Umdloti community rallied behind Monkey Helpline’s Steve Smit and Carol Booth on Saturday in an attempt to save 22 monkeys, 13 of which died.
The nine survivors are being treated at a vet in Durban North.
Booth said they would be thrilled if the person behind the poisoning was prosecuted.
“If this person is not caught, it actually means not only monkeys are in danger but all animals,” said Booth referring to the dog that died after eating the vomit of the poisoned monkeys.
Dr Kerry Easson from the Riverside Veterinary Clinic said the surviving monkeys were doing very well in their care and only two were still struggling.
It is suspected the monkeys were killed with a poison known as ‘Two Step’ that is highly toxic, even to humans.
UPDATE: Monkey Helpline’s Steve Smit and Carol Booth talk about the horrific poisoning of this monkey troop.
https://www.facebook.com/carol.booth.1884/videos/2712308685455300/
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