DEAR Editor,-
Willem de Klerk is obviously a compassionate animal lover, but I do feel that his sentiments regarding monkeys in built-up residential areas are misguided.
Yes, before humans inhabited the areas, there were primates, but so too were their natural predators like members of the wild cat family, eagles and hawks and so on.
Sad but true, all natural predators of primates, as well as most forms of wildlife, have had to retreat from urban areas, but virtually only the primates remain and breed exponentially.
When last did you see a bush baby or other creatures like that in residential areas? No, they exist in the wildlife areas set aside for them, living in their natural environment – and that’s where the monkeys ought to be too.
Whilst the poisoning of monkeys cannot be condoned, and not being an apologist for the person(s) responsible, this action was probably driven by sheer desperation.
Monkeys are wild animals, not domesticated like dogs and cats and no longer belong in urban areas. They cause untold damage to the little amount of bird life we have left, raiding nests and eating both eggs and fledglings.
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We should be protecting our bird life from the predations of monkeys, because with so many varieties, birds can far better co-exist with humankind and will hopefully be with us for many decades to come.
Monkeys are certainly not welcome on my property. They have tried on occasion to gain entry into my house to steal, which has made it impossible for me to maintain a veggie garden.
They raid the fruit trees that I planted to enjoy the produce therefrom. Property-dwellers erect high walls and razor fencing to keep intruders out, but have to endure the trespassing of monkeys – and no, squirting them with hosepipes is a total waste of time, they always return!
And keeping monkeys as pets is absolutely crazy – madness personified! In my youth I knew people who did, but it invariably ended badly because the monkeys almost always bit somebody.
The victim had to be medically treated and the monkey was destroyed to test the brain for rabies. I even heard of instances where monkeys had their fang teeth removed to prevent serious bite attack damage – who the blazes wants that or can condone that kind of action?
As the son of a medical doctor who had to treat victims of monkey-bites, I have seen the injuries monkeys can inflict and they are not pretty.
The SPCA has its hands full rescuing and dealing with ill-treated and abandoned ‘domestic’ animals and is doing immeasurably good work in that regard.
It will not have the resources to trap and relocate troops of renegade monkeys which have become an unbearable nuisance in urban areas.
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Rather, the monkey rescue people and those who identify with them should concentrate their efforts in trapping the miscreant troops and relocating them to game reserves and wildlife areas far from urban centres.
There they can live as nature intended and not have to compete with humans for food or be fed by misguided humans, who knowingly or unknowingly contribute to the problem!
The monkey poisoner, if found, will certainly be prosecuted. But my appeal is to those who truly have the welfare of the monkeys at heart.
Fund the trapping and relocation of monkeys to wilderness areas where visitors and their children and grandchildren can view them in their natural surrounds.
D BAIN
Shelly Beach
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