Kansas Neighbors Want 4 Pet Monkeys Removed, but City Officials Say They Can’t Act
A little bit of monkey business has one Kansas neighborhood in a tizzy. Residents are trying to get the City of Basehor to respond to complaints about a man who appears to be keeping four spider monkeys as pets.
According to them, the monkeys pose a threat to the community, and they’d like to see the small primates removed before something happens. However, the city says its hands are tied, since the monkeys don’t exactly break any laws or rules that would allow them to force the homeowner to get rid of his pets.
This is causing quite a stir in the neighborhood, and at least one resident says that she will take action on her own if the city doesn’t step up and do something soon, according to KCTV5. And that could involve reaching out to other government agencies for help.
As for the homeowner, he’s keeping pretty mum about the situation for now and has refused to speak on camera about what’s going on. However, the man did reveal that he doesn’t plan to stay in the neighborhood much longer.
Neighbors Aren’t Monkeying Around When It Comes to Safety
A woman named Sarah Farthing spoke with the outlet about the monkeys, saying she lives right next door to the property in question. “I thought I saw an adult out there playing with a child on a swing set,” she said of the first time she saw the animals in September. “And then I saw that it was an adult man with four monkeys, and they were on some play equipment inside of a huge cage.”
Farthing says she did some research into local codes and found what she was looking for in Chapter 6 of Basehor’s City Code of Ordinances, which includes nonhuman primates in its list of “dangerous animals.” When she reached out to the city, she said officials didn’t seem to be on the same page, even as she expressed her concerns about disease transmission and injuries.
The City Says Its Hands Are Tied
In a statement to KCTV, the city acknowledged the neighborhood’s concerns. “The City has received several complaints about the harboring of the spider monkeys at the property, but none have indicated any direct contact with the animals at issue, or any incidences evidencing a vicious or dangerous nature or interaction with the public that would show dangerous propensities, and no harm or injury to any member of the public,” the statement said in part.
As such, the city called all safety concerns “unproven at this point” and noted that the city’s code doesn’t prohibit the spider monkeys. “It is acknowledged that the City Code would have to be amended to do so, and the City is in the process of a full review of its codes to address these concerns, and others. The City will not provide further comment on any ongoing investigation.”
Spider Monkeys Have a Complex History
When it comes to the spider monkey pet trade, NPR says it’s a dark and ugly thing that often sees baby monkeys poached from the wild, often leaving a wake of dead adult spider monkeys behind. Many of these infants don’t survive as pets, and many of them die from stress or malnutrition before they reach their first birthday.
Those that do survive can tend to become too much work for their owners, especially once they become older and their needs increase, which is when they are most likely to be rehomed or turned over to wildlife centers. It sounds like it’s these very kinds of organizations that Farthing plans to contact if she doesn’t get her way with the Basehor officials.
“If we don’t see any action in our favor after the city council meeting tonight, in the coming weeks, I would start reaching out to federal wildlife organizations, to our county, to the state of Kansas,” she told KCTV.
