adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
THE Parks and Wildlife Authority of Zimbabwe has joined the hunt for residents of Emakhandeni suburb in Bulawayo who killed a monkey amid revelations that if arrested they could be fined a total of $1,200. The development comes after the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) made a police report to bring the culprits to book for killing the wild animal.
Police are hunting for the residents who ganged up to kill the monkey a fortnight ago. The residents attacked the monkey after claiming that it was being used to bewitch them. They reportedly ambushed it after it sneaked into one of the homes in the suburb. Residents claim that the monkey was acting strangely because it raided people’s refrigerators as it scavenged for food.
It was also said to be a nuisance because after eating it would use the toilet before getting into people’s blankets.
The SPCA last week told The Chronicle that under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the monkey killers faced a $200 fine and or six months in prison.
A Parks and Wildlife Authority official who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday said his organisation was also eager to get the culprits and make them pay for their illegal conduct. “According to the Parks and Wildlife Statutory Instrument 56:43 of 2012, the compensation value of killing a monkey is $1,000. As soon as the culprits are arrested we will also move in on them to compensate for killing the monkey,” said the official.
He said the culprits would pay the compensation fee to Parks and Wildlife and also pay the $200 fine to SPCA or face imprisonment. The Statutory Instrument outlines the penalties for hunting animals and fish as well as for trapping wild animals. It has a list of all animals and the fines for slaughtering each of them.
Killing a rhinoceros attracts a $120,000 compensation fee with an elephant attracting a fee of $50,000 and $40,000 for a tuskless one. Killing a lion attracts a $20,000 fine with a buffalo attracting a $10,000 penalty for a bull and $8,000 for the female.
Caroline Washaya-Moyo, spokesperson for the Parks and Wildlife Authority of Zimbabwe, said she was not aware a monkey had been killed.
On Monday police questioned the owner of the house where the monkey was killed.
Online Reporter