A Tennessee woman shot a vervet monkey that she said tried to attack her, according to police. The monkey later died of his wounds at the Chattanooga Zoo.
A spokesperson for the Soddy-Daisy Police Department told CBS News that the woman, whose name has not been released, had gone to feed her cats in Thrasher, Tennessee, on Thursday afternoon when the monkey approached her and tried to attack her. of. The woman said she had recently had hip surgery and was trying to get away from the monkey.
She told police that she had gone to get a gun from her home to defend herself.
Officers found the injured monkey on the road and took it to the Chattanooga Zoo for treatment. A zoo spokesperson said the buck arrived Thursday evening and was taken to the animal hospital.
Chattanooga Zoo spokesperson Jake Cash confirmed to CBS News, “Unfortunately, due to the severity of the monkey's wounds, the best course of action for the animal was humane euthanasia.” He said the zoo consulted the Humane Educational Society, an animal shelter, and thoroughly examined the monkey's condition before euthanizing it.
The Soddy-Daisy Police Department did not say whether the vervet monkey was a pet or had an owner, but local media reported that the monkey had a collar.
animal advocacy group peta kept a list of events with captive primates since 1990, resulting in the death of more than 60 animals and one human. Ownership of exotic pets has increased in recent years, with 13 percent of households owning such animals by 2016. According to the research done By the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Between 2014 and 2019, 48,793 individual live samples that were refused clearance U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Necessary care and space.
Vervet monkeys are common in East Africa small, black-faced monkeys Weighs between 6 and 11 pounds. These monkeys are hunted for their meat and can be trapped and kept as pets. Experts like to remind people that monkeys are wildlife And should not be kept as pets.
“They are noisy, dirty, difficult to care for, and can be aggressive,” the San Diego Zoo warns on its website.
—Shantel Guzman contributed reporting.