Baby monkeys custody given to Karachi zoo

KARACHI: The Karachi Zoological Gardens have received 14 infant monkeys after a district and sessions court granted custody on Friday. A fine of Rs100,000 was issued on two men attempting to smuggle them from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During hearings, one of the monkeys escaped court premises. Officials of the Sindh Wildlife Department had to send out a search to recover it.

During the proceedings, the wildlife department investigating officer (IO) requested the court to send  them back to their natural habitat in KP.

However, the court decided to entrust the care and well-being of animals to the Karachi Zoo administration. The court reasoned this would ensure that the baby monkeys will receive the attention, environment, and supervision they require.

Game Officer Ashfaq Ali Memon and Aijaz Ali Noodani were asked to hand them over to the zoo team. The court also ordered the game officer to submit a report on compliance with the court’s directives on August 7.

The order was passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Shahid Ali Memon while hearing a case pertaining to the arrest of two suspected smugglers and recovery of the monkeys.

The IO had lodged an application stating that two accused, Junaid and Ali Bahadur. They were arrested at the Toll Plaza, M-9 Motorway, on the night of July 20. They were travelling from a Karachi-bound bus coming from Charsadda, KP.

The IO also informed the court that the suspects had brought the animals to Karachi to sell them to monkey charmers so that they could be trained to earn money.

He had brought the 14 monkeys to court to produce them before the judge as case property (physical evidence). However, when the judge went to a room on the upper floor of the judicial complex for inspection, one of the animals escaped.

It took 20 hours to recapture it.