Carabinieri from the Cites unit in Catania and Cassibile (Syracuse) together with veterinarians from the Syracuse ASP captured a chimpanzee in the house of a Maltese citizen living in Italy, who was kept without any permits. Primates (Pan troglodytes) are among the species that are dangerous to public health and safety and are among the species at high risk of extinction, protected by the international trade convention on endangered wild species.
The animal – say carabinieri – was about three and a half years old, kept in conditions inconsistent with its nature, as proven by veterinarians, because it was attached to a chain about two meters long which, in addition to forcing it to behave unnaturally and stereotypically, was later proven to cause very serious injuries near the groin.
The chimpanzees, as stated by the Maltese, were brought from Malta, where they were bought in an underground market.
The primate’s owner was reported to have committed animal cruelty and illegal detention. The chimpanzees were transported to the veterinary hospital of the University of Messina, for initial treatment, and then, with the support of the operational department of the Carabinieri Cites Roma group, the chimpanzees were transferred to the Bioparco Roma, “an official structure – say the Carabinieri – for the detention of this species, and where it is possible to initiate, through a team of ethologists, a recovery process to allow, in the future, the necessary insertion into the social group”. During a search of the Maltese home, a specimen of the Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) was also found, also without Cites documentation.
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