Residents irate over monkey shooting
Any person or child walking through or playing in the park could have been shot
RESIDENTS, including a two-year-old child of Manta Wing in Meerensee, have been traumatised after witnessing the shooting of a vervet monkey.
The incident occurred on Thursday at about 10.45am when a troop of monkeys was playing in the public park at the end of the cul-de-sac.
‘My granddaughter and I often sit at the gate in our driveway watching the monkeys when they play in the park because we are teaching her how to treat animals and how to live around wildlife,’ said a resident, who requested anonymity.
‘While we were watching them, we heard a gunshot from a nearby house.
‘I was not sure where exactly it came from, so I shouted out to find out who fired the shot and I heard my neighbour whistle.
‘I shouted at him to stop shooting at the monkeys, but he then fired another four shots.
‘One of the monkeys was hit and there was chaos among the troop. They were all screaming, especially the monkey that was shot.’
The monkey eventually died on the scene and when the resident retrieved the body so either the SPCA or Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife could remove it, she noticed the monkey had been shot through the chest.
Meerensee CPF attended the scene and notified Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife of the incident.
The bullet was retrieved and will be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
‘Apart from the inhumane treatment of this monkey, any person or child walking through or playing in the park could have been shot,’ said the resident.
Vervet monkeys are not protected by conservation laws, which means Ezemvelo cannot proceed with legal charges from a conservation perspective.
However, the resident who witnessed the incident can open a case with SAPS as it is illegal for weapons to be discharged in residential areas. She can also open an animal cruelty case with the SPCA.