Cape Town - The Cape of Good Hope SPCA says it is satisfied with the progress made by the Monkey Town Primate Centre in Somerset West in addressing issues in terms of the Animal Protection Act that were violated at the centre last month.
Animal charity organisation Paws for Cape Town started a petition demanding that Monkey Town CEO Rene Grobler take active steps to remedy the violations and publicly release a detailed report on its status and a prevention strategy to mitigate a repetition of the said violations.
The organisation also demanded the SPCA prosecute Monkey Town should the centre fail to remedy the violations. The organisation said it was unacceptable for a centre that housed many animals not to provide suitable conditions for them.
Last month the SPCA conducted an inspection and investigation at the centre after a complaint was laid against it and found 14 violations of the Animal Protection Act.
The investigation found, among other things, limited access to potable drinking water, a neglected donkey with severely overgrown hooves, and use of equipment in the vicinity of animals which resulted in visibly distressed squirrel monkeys.
It then issued the centre with a warning and gave it seven days to remedy matters.
After a follow-up inspection conducted last week SPCA’s Belinda Abrahams said Monkey Town gave their full co-operation.
Abrahams said the centre has either already complied with the warnings issued or has a plan of action in place to ensure they met all the requirements of the Act.
“The sheep and goat have already been relocated to a sanctuary in the Greyton area and they are in the process of re-homing the donkeys,” Abrahams said.
Monkey Town Primate Centre, which refuted some of the allegations made by the SPCA, said out of the 14 Animal Protection Act violations issues raised, 12 of them were incorrect.
The SPCA has also since removed from their Facebook page the 14 violations following a letter from the centre’s attorneys.