One can only imagine the pain and anguish suffered by the monkey as the arrow smashed through his body then protruded obscenely from either side, sharp point at one end and gayly coloured feather flights at the other. To watch that monkey in the last hours of his life as he struggled to breath with one collapsed lung and his body shaking from the effects of massive infection, getting weaker by the minute and struggling more and more to hold tight and not fall to the ground far below, is an experience I would hope to erase from my memory but never will.
We can only hope that someone who knows who this coward is will have the courage to contact us and provide the information we need for an arrest and conviction. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see this despicable person thrown into jail and subjected to whatever might await him there.
As of today the reward offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction has been increased to R12 000 .
Following below is a statement sent through to the South Coast Herald for 
inclusion in an article published this week about the shooting and subsequent death of this monkey:
inclusion in an article published this week about the shooting and subsequent death of this monkey:"On Saturday evening we were alerted to the plight of a male Vervet monkey in Uvongo. He had been shot through with an arrow from a bow, the arrow penetrating his chest from the left next to his shoulder, and protruding from his abdomen on the right.
The monkey was high in the branches of a dead tree and rather than disturb him at the risk of losing him in the failing light, we decided to return the next morning to dart him with a sedative and catch him that way. We were told that he had been in that tree for at least two days. It was obvious from his labored breathing and the tremors racking his body every now and again that he was in a bad way.
We returned on Sunday and after some effort managed to sedate him and catch him. Unfortunately he died a few minutes after capture. Close inspection and a post mortem at the vet showed that the arrow had passed through the left lung, through the diaphragm and through his liver before exiting the right abdominal body wall.
Severe peritonitis had set in and this monkey suffered terribly before eventually dying from his injuries and the related infection.
It should be stated that this is the fifth monkey that we know to having been shot with an arrow along a sixty kilometer section of the South Coast, stretching from Scottburgh to Uvongo. (Scottburgh – 1 adult male, Pennington – 1 adult female, 1 adult male, Uvongo – 1 adult male, Oslo beach – 1 adult unknown gender).
Most South Coast residents we have spoken to are incensed at this cruelty and are quick to point out this must be the work of a few socially dysfunctional individuals. It is certainly not representative of the attitude of most South Coast residents to monkeys. Even those who consider monkeys a pest and a nuisance would not want to see them injured.
Shooting or in any other way injuring monkeys is an offence in terms of both the provincial conservation ordinance and the national Animal Protection Act, and contravention of these laws carries heavy penalties, which could include both a fine and a jail sentence.
Perceptions that monkeys are breeding out of control are totally wrong. Every troop that we monitor is actually decreasing in size from one year to the next as their habitat is degraded and they have to spend more and more time in urban areas, facing the threat of motor vehicles, dogs, electrocution on high voltage power lines, razor wire, people with pellet guns, paintball guns and catapults, poison, and much more. These cause far more fatalities than natural predators ever did.
Monkey Helpline appeals to members of the public to keep a look out for these ruthless killers of monkeys. We believe that all these cases are related, either carried out by the same person o
r by a small group of two or three working together. We would like to see a public comment and denouncement of these arrow killings made by the archery/bow hunting fraternity, but their silence has been deafening. This leaves the impression, expressed by many who have contacted us, that these cruel killings are condoned by the archery and bow hunting fraternities.
Anyone with information about any of these shootings can contact Monkey Helpline on 082 659 4711 (Steve) or 082 411 5444 (Carol), or on steve@animalrightsafrica.org, on carol@animalrightsafrica.org . All information will be treated with utmost discretion and there is an R11000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators."
The monkey was high in the branches of a dead tree and rather than disturb him at the risk of losing him in the failing light, we decided to return the next morning to dart him with a sedative and catch him that way. We were told that he had been in that tree for at least two days. It was obvious from his labored breathing and the tremors racking his body every now and again that he was in a bad way.
We returned on Sunday and after some effort managed to sedate him and catch him. Unfortunately he died a few minutes after capture. Close inspection and a post mortem at the vet showed that the arrow had passed through the left lung, through the diaphragm and through his liver before exiting the right abdominal body wall.
Severe peritonitis had set in and this monkey suffered terribly before eventually dying from his injuries and the related infection.
It should be stated that this is the fifth monkey that we know to having been shot with an arrow along a sixty kilometer section of the South Coast, stretching from Scottburgh to Uvongo. (Scottburgh – 1 adult male, Pennington – 1 adult female, 1 adult male, Uvongo – 1 adult male, Oslo beach – 1 adult unknown gender).
Most South Coast residents we have spoken to are incensed at this cruelty and are quick to point out this must be the work of a few socially dysfunctional individuals. It is certainly not representative of the attitude of most South Coast residents to monkeys. Even those who consider monkeys a pest and a nuisance would not want to see them injured.
Shooting or in any other way injuring monkeys is an offence in terms of both the provincial conservation ordinance and the national Animal Protection Act, and contravention of these laws carries heavy penalties, which could include both a fine and a jail sentence.
Perceptions that monkeys are breeding out of control are totally wrong. Every troop that we monitor is actually decreasing in size from one year to the next as their habitat is degraded and they have to spend more and more time in urban areas, facing the threat of motor vehicles, dogs, electrocution on high voltage power lines, razor wire, people with pellet guns, paintball guns and catapults, poison, and much more. These cause far more fatalities than natural predators ever did.
Monkey Helpline appeals to members of the public to keep a look out for these ruthless killers of monkeys. We believe that all these cases are related, either carried out by the same person o
r by a small group of two or three working together. We would like to see a public comment and denouncement of these arrow killings made by the archery/bow hunting fraternity, but their silence has been deafening. This leaves the impression, expressed by many who have contacted us, that these cruel killings are condoned by the archery and bow hunting fraternities.Anyone with information about any of these shootings can contact Monkey Helpline on 082 659 4711 (Steve) or 082 411 5444 (Carol), or on steve@animalrightsafrica.org, on carol@animalrightsafrica.org . All information will be treated with utmost discretion and there is an R11000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators."
Ends.
Pics:
Top - The monkey sits forlornly and in terrible pain on a Strelitzia leaf, the arrow clearly visible.
Second down - Carol holds the sedated, dying monkey upright in an attempt to assist his laboured breathing.
Third down - Checking for a heart beat - in vain.
Bottom - Our regular vet, Dr Kerry Easson, does the post mortem to assess the damage causd by the arrow.
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