Barbary macaques for Villena
FAIZA and Nico, two Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), have been transferred from Melilla to the AAP Primadomus wildlife sanctuary, in Villena. Both were victims of poaching, torn from their mothers and sold illegally as pets. They had been seized by the authorities and left at animal rescue centres in Melilla, where they have spent the last few years.
The Barbary macaque or Gibraltar monkey, as they are commonly known, is the only primate found in the wild in North Africa and southern Europe (Rock of Gibraltar). Its population numbers between 6,500 and 9,100 individuals and is seriously threatened by habitat destruction and the theft of offspring for illegal sale. In 2016, animal protection organisations upgraded the species CITES grading from two to one, thus achieving the highest level of protection.
Even so, it is still one of the most seized CITES mammals in Spain. Hence, it is one of the primates most often rescued by the AAP sanctuary, alongside marmosets.
Nico is only three years old and belonged to a person who purchased him illegally. He was confiscated by the authorities when he was one year old. The animal’s life of confinement has taken its toll on his mental health, with him developing abnormal behaviour and even self-harming. At AAP he is now in the hands of primate specialists who will help him with his rehabilitation.
Faiza is about 15 years old 14 of which were spent in a dog and cat rescue centre. The sanctuary’s team of experts is assessing her condition in the hope that she will have a chance to rehabilitate and finally socialise with other macaques.
The relocation process has been a complex and lengthy one, involving paperwork, authorisations and veterinary tests. On March 30, members of AAP Primadomus travelled to Melilla and, after the final tests and examinations, the animals were transported by ferry to Almería and then on to the sanctuary in Villena.
Despite the long wait, the entire AAP team and Melilla authorities are convinced that it was worth it.
“Receiving the message that the monkeys had arrived safely at their new destination was the culmination of months of work and effort due to the complexity of the process. “Our satisfaction on completing our objective, which we had so often worried was unachievable, is enormous,” explained Mellila councillor for animal welfare, Paqui Maeso.
AAP thanked the councillor, and naval veterinarian Rafael Serrano, who took charge of carrying out the necessary checks on the primates, and Julio Montero the person who reported on the macaques’ situation in captivity and took Nico fruit every day.
Thanks to these efforts, the animals now have a new home where they will be able to socialise with others of the same species, have access to adapted outdoor facilities and can finally live a life as close to their species as possible.
The AAP Foundation is an international animal welfare organisation that, among other things, is dedicated to fostering primates and other exotic mammals such as big cats, giving them a better future.
The organisation also runs the ‘Born to be Wild’ project in Morocco. An ambitious and wide-ranging initiative focused on the conservation of the Barbary macaque.