WATCH: Monkey business in Karachi court during smuggling case

Baby monkey caused chaos in court after escaping from a troop presented as evidence in a case of wildlife smuggling

KARACHI:

A baby monkey caused chaos in a court in Karachi after escaping from a troop presented as evidence in a case of wildlife smuggling, officials said.

Two men were intercepted outside the metropolis on Thursday trying to smuggle 14 baby monkeys in crates usually used to transport mangoes.

But when they were brought to court on Friday, one of the monkeys escaped -- causing chaos as staff tried to tempt it down from a tree.

"The monkeys were kept in the boxes in a bad condition... they could hardly breathe," said Javed Mahar, chief of Sindh Wildlife Department.

A baby monkey, which was recovered by the Sindh Wildlife Department, fled from the premises of city court in Karachi.

The department's official said that 14 newborn monkeys were recovered at the M-9 motorway during the search of a passenger bus arriving in the port city from… pic.twitter.com/0SscKhHPo0

— Dialogue Pakistan (@DialoguePak) July 21, 2023

The trade or keeping of wild animals is illegal in Pakistan, but laws are routinely ignored and there is a lively market in exotic pets.

Monkeys are frequently kept by street entertainers to attract customers, and in some cases have been trained by criminals to enter houses to steal.

Read more: Zoo gets custody of seized infant monkeys

The smugglers were each fined 100,000 rupees (around $350) on Friday and the court ordered the monkeys to be handed over to Karachi Zoo -- a step immediately criticised by wildlife officials.

"The monkeys should have been returned to their natural habitat from where they were captured," Mahar said.

Zoos in Pakistan are notorious for their poor facilities and activists accuse them of disregarding animal welfare.

In 2020, a court ordered the only zoo in the country's capital to close because of its decrepit state.