SEETHING WITH ANGER: Stray monkeys kept illegally chained on the footpath in Visakhapatnam strike an aggressive posture. — Photo: K.R. Deepak

VISAKHAPATNAM: The three monkeys sit huddled together in a pile of leftover food. Chained to the wall, they snarl and lunge towards strangers only to be pulled back sharply.

Caught by two physically challenged streetchildren, the monkeys have been held captive on the platform opposite the Visakhapatnam railway station for the last four months. Some rag-pickers says that the boys lured them with bananas and then caught them under a wire mesh.

The animals live in unhygienic conditions, and one of them, an aggressive female, is pregnant. "The boys initially caught five monkeys of which one died and one managed to run away," says a roadside sadhu Appalanaidu.

Despite several warnings by municipal staff, the boys continue to keep the monkeys chained. "They are attached to the animals and refuse to let them go," says rag-picker Araiya. Kept for amusement, the monkeys have bitten several passers-by. Rajaram, a friend of the boys who caught the monkeys, shows the scars on his face, hand and leg.

"There have been many cases of monkeys being caught and ill treated," says founder and president of the Visakha Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VSPCA) Pradeep Nath. "Many people train these animals to perform in street shows, and some even learn to steal," he adds.

The State government, says Mr. Nath, has issued no clear guidelines regarding the rescue and rehabilitation of monkeys in urban areas. Once these animals get accustomed to living in urban areas, it is hard for them to adjust in the wild.

VSPCA appeal

The ones that are rescued by the VSPCA are kept at a shelter, treated and released in groups at a jungle area near Pardesipalem. "We have only two acres of land in Pardesipalem and have made many requests to the government to grant us more land," he says. "No organisation, be it the municipal corporation or the Forest Department, is willing to cooperate in finding a solution," Mr. Nath adds.

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