CYPRUS IS in serious danger of becoming infested with monkeys, said the Cyprus Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) yesterday, as Cypriot owners, bored with their novelty pets, have taken to opening their front doors and letting their pets run wild.
“And monkeys breed like mice,” said Toulla Poyadji, head of CSPCA. “We could soon be dealing with an outbreak of stray monkeys.”
There have been three sightings of stray monkeys reported recently – one in Troodos and two in Aradhippou – and this, said Poyadji, is something that needs to be taken extremely seriously.
“Apart from various serious diseases the monkeys may have, which can be transmitted to humans, these animals can be very aggressive and dangerous”, warned Poyadji. “They are not meant to cohabit with humans, they are wild animals. They don’t belong in the natural environment of Cyprus”
There have also been reports of stray raccoons in the villages Troullous, Dromolaxia and Sotira.
“Following these reports, we contacted the senior officials at the Veterinary Services and Agriculture Ministry and expressed are concerns,” said Poyadji. “Both expressed their concerns and promised they would meet with the House Environment Committee in order to find ways to deal with the problem.”
But although CSPCA sounded alarm bells back in 2003 by bringing the matter before the House Environment Committee, nothing has been done yet.
Although officially illegal, the importation of wild animals is reaching worrying dimensions, according to Poyadji.
“The Veterinary Services told us that some of them are imported through the ports and some may come from the occupied areas. But it is so easy to obtain such animals. There are even advertisements in newspapers selling monkeys and other wild animals”.
She also warned the public of the dangers of buying wild animals through such means.
“In 2003, we received a complaint by a married couple from Strovolos (Nicosia) who had answered a newspaper advertisement and went to purchase a monkey from a man in Acropolis.
“According to the couple, when they arrived at the apartment, there were a number of wild animals – monkeys, African Grey Parrots and other wild birds which are illegal to import – crowded in the rooms, which were covered in faeces and other such filth.”
Despite their reservations, the couple took the monkey home, only to watch a die a week later.
“Alarmed the husband asked for an autopsy, which proved the monkey was infected with the virus ‘Yesinia enterocolitica’, a variant transmissible to humans and that affects the bowels.”
Even though the Veterinary Services are aware of the case, said Poyadji, the man in question is still allowed to sell animals.
“And yet, I know this poor old woman who keeps a chicken as a pet and the Municipality has threatened her with court action if she doesn’t get rid of it.”
It is time Cyprus respected the International Treaty it signed upon its accession to the EU, Poyadji said, and dealt with the illegal importation of wildlife, as well as the standards under which these animals are kept.
“These monkeys are being kept in small metal cages; no trees or anything that would resemble their national habitat. And the treaty clearly states: it is legally forbidden to keep wild animals under conditions of captivity.”
