A baby monkey brought as evidence in a wildlife smuggling case inside court in Pakistan created chaos as it tried to escape.
The incident created disruption inside the premises and also generated some laughter among the people present inside the court’s premises, according to the reports.
The baby monkey was among the two monkeys who were brought as evidence in the wildlife smuggling case.
They were recovered after two men were intercepted outside Karachi trying to smuggle 14 baby monkeys in crates usually used to transport mangos, reported AFP.
The report said when they(monkeys) were brought to court on Friday, one of the monkeys escaped—causing chaos as staff tried to tempt it down from a tree.
The trade or keeping of wild animals is illegal in Pakistan, but laws are routinely ignored and there is a lively market in exotic pets, the report mentioned.
It also said monkeys are frequently kept by street entertainers to attract customers, and in some cases have been trained by criminals to enter houses to steal.
“The smugglers were each fined 100,000 rupees (around $350) on Friday and the court ordered the monkeys to be handed over to Karachi Zoo -- a step immediately criticised by wildlife officials,” the report said.
The wildlife authorities said the monkeys should have been returned to their natural habitat from where they were captured.
The report mentioned that Pakistan's zoos are notorious for their poor facilities and activists accuse them of disregarding animal welfare.
In 2020, a court ordered the only zoo in the country's capital to close because of its decrepit state, it said.
