Despite a collective excoriating from animal lovers, police in Milan said on Sunday they had no choice but to release a monkey who had been on the run for three weeks. The monkey, which has the identification number RSC1005, was eventually captured when it got lost near a former circus to which it had been sent because a stable it was in did not have appropriate cages. RSC1005 has lived in a housing complex for monkeys in the city.
As the New York Times reported on Sunday, the release was the latest in a string of similar stories around the globe.
Animal lovers were incensed when RSC1005 — later renamed Kessipi — was found on a city rooftop in search of food, where it met the owner of a neighbouring property who may have offered her some. When the monkey failed to flee the city and eventually was unable to lay any eggs, police detained it. The animal caused public safety concerns, and it has emerged that police had already lodged a request with the court and provincial government to get it neutered so that it is no longer a threat to the public.
“We have a duty to protect this animal,” a police spokesperson said, adding that “the monkey could have easily killed itself or have been attacked by criminals.” But protesters marched through the city on Friday, demanding that the monkey be returned. It was eventually released into a sanctuary.
In several cities in the past, animal activists have pushed to have monkeys, including bears, gerbils and snakes, declared as endangered species — thus making it illegal to own them. In 2017, campaigners in Mexico City gathered signatures for a petition that would have gotten such animals listed as an endangered species. But the petition was rejected by the government, which said that the animals were already protected by law.
In Milan, the monkey may be free, but it must still live in the protective cage.