‘Arrest’ warning for party planners
SPCA says noise of trance event will traumatise monkeys
THE SPCA is up in arms about a trance party planned for Saturday night at a venue in Monkey Town in Somerset West, which is home to more than 200 primates.
It has threatened to have the organisers arrested if they go ahead with what is billed as “an epic night of thundering bass lines and psychedelic melodies taking us into the blissfulness of each other’s minds”.
Tickets for the party at the Cheeky Monkey bush pub and restaurant, which starts at 5pm and goes on until 3am on Sunday, are available online and nearly 3 000 people are expected.
The party is being organised by an events company called Astral Circus.
Megan Reid, SPCA Wildlife Unit supervisor, said the organisation was concerned about the close proximity of the 200 monkeys as well as the menagerie of farm animals in the surrounding areas.
In a letter to the City of Cape Town, which has yet to receive an application for a permit to host Saturday’s event, Reid wrote: “The Cape of Good Hope SPCA feels that it would be unacceptable to host a trance party at the premises as it would undoubtedly cause unnecessary stress and suffering to these animals.”
Cape of Good Hope SPCA CEO Allan Perrins said the organisation had been told the organisers would be using a “Bedouin tent to help with soundproofing” but he did not feel that this would be effective.
“We get repeated complaints from horse owners when trance parties are held in the Boland that the continual thumping and laser lights caused their horses to go crazy.
“If the organisers go ahead, we will have them arrested on the spot.”
Christine van der Merwe from the Cheeky Monkey said the tent would be erected today to test whether it would “dampen” the sound. She added the party was between 200 and 300 metres away from the monkey sanctuary and the music was directed away from them.