Brendan Murray of the Owl Rescue Centre with one of the poisoned monkeys.

The Hartbeespoort Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) has expressed their concern about recent poisonings and a shooting of monkeys in the Hartbeespoort area last week.
Within a few days, four monkeys were poisoned in Rietfontein and Kosmos, and a monkey was shot in Hartbeespoort.
“Two monkeys arrived at HAWS on their own, bleeding profusely from the mouth. Another two were found in Kosmos. All four had been poisoned. Only one juvenile from Kosmos survived,” HAWS said.
It is suspected that the two monkeys that arrived at HAWS have ingested rat poison and the two from Kosmos were poisoned with Temic (Two-Step).
Shortly after the poisonings, the Owl Rescue Centre received a call about a monkey that was shot at a golf estate in the Hartbeespoort area. “We rushed him to a veterinarian but the bullet had caused too much damage to his spinal column and he had to be euthanised,” said Brendan Murray of the rescue centre.
“We are heartbroken that these animals have died in such a gruesome and cruel manner and ask the public to please consider the consequences of their actions. No creature deserves to die in this way,” HAWS said.
“If any member of the public finds a dead monkey please do not touch it with bare hands but use a plastic bag to place it in a second plastic bag. Then either bring it to HAWS or contact HAWS so that our inspector can collect it from you for examination.”
Contact HAWS at 076 455 0322.