Baby monkey brought in as evidence causes chaos, escapes from court

In a bizarre incident in a Pakistan court, a baby monkey, brought in as evidence in a wildlife smuggling case, caused chaos and managed to escape. The incident occurred on Saturday, when two men were intercepted outside Karachi while attempting to smuggle 14 baby monkeys in crates typically used for transporting mangoes, reported news agency AFP.

The baby monkey was one of two presented as evidence in the court. However, the seemingly innocent creature quickly turned into a mischievous escape artist, causing disruption and eliciting laughter from those present in the courtroom. The monkey's antics culminated in it climbing a tree, leaving court staff scrambling to coax it down. "The monkeys were kept in the boxes in a bad condition... they could hardly breathe," said Javed Mahar, chief of Sindh Wildlife Department.

Monkeys, in particular, are often kept by street entertainers to attract customers and, in some cases, trained by criminals to enter houses and steal.

The traffickers were fined 100,000 rupees (about $350), and the court ordered that the monkeys be sent over to Karachi Zoo, which was promptly condemned by wildlife officials. "The monkeys should have been returned to their natural habitat from where they were captured," Mahar said.

This incident underscores the grim reality of wildlife smuggling in Pakistan, a country where the trade or keeping of wild animals is illegal. Despite the laws, they are routinely ignored, leading to a thriving market for exotic pets.

The smuggling of baby monkeys is a cruel practice that involves killing the mother monkey in the wild or stealing the babies right off their mothers' backs in captivity.

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 due to its decrepit state.

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