This Wednesday, the authorities confiscated from a 94-year-old woman the capuchin monkey she had been living with for four decades. The measure was applauded by organizations dedicated to the defense of animals and condemned by residents, traders and associations on this side of the Eixample. Police from the City Council, rural agents from the Generalitat and workers from the municipal Animal Welfare area also took a dog with them. Consistory sources say that neither the monkey nor the dog lived in suitable conditions. The truth is that it is a story with many points of view.
“A long time ago a neighbor brought some monkeys from Venezuela, and from time to time I took care of Lino, Linito, and in the end I bought him for 40,000 pesetas because all his monkeys were dying, and I didn’t want him to Lino would die – explains María in a lucid, distressed, indignant way. When I was little, he would climb on my shoulder and we would watch TV, the horses scared him and he would cover his face! He has always lived with me. For 30 years he had a cage as big as a room, but when my partner died I had to put him in a smaller one, with his toys. Even Frank Cuesta came here. By then Lino was very old. These animals don’t live that long. I have always given him bananas, walnuts, pears, grapes… and peeled and seedless apples and hard-boiled quail eggs! He loves quail eggs… and I talk to him, and he listens and holds my hand, somehow he understands me. I feel like a child has been taken from me. I didn’t want them to take it away, but they told me that if I didn’t let them take it away, they would take it away when I least expected it with a court order and a fine and they would impose a fine of 60,000 euros and they left too. take my dog ??Luana!”. It was more than three very tense hours.
The Foundation for Advice and Action in Defense of Animals (Faada) celebrated the confiscation of this capuchin monkey as a great victory. The organization assured yesterday in a statement that it has been complaining about Lino’s living conditions for nearly ten years, that neither the cage nor the diet were appropriate or convenient, that Lino never had the opportunity to relate to other monkeys, that the sun did not touch him… and also that it has been a long time since the regulations did not allow an animal of these characteristics to live in the city, that during all this time the City Council, the Generalitat and the Barcelona Environmental Prosecutor’s Office shirked their responsibilities time and time again. “But this January – continues the Faada in its statement -, following the entry into force of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Welfare of Animals, we presented a new complaint to the Generalitat so that this law prohibits explicit possession of primates throughout the national territory. So the administrations could no longer evade their responsibilities. We celebrate this victory, but we regret that the lack of determination of the administrations did not allow this rescue to be carried out much sooner”.
In this corner of Sant Antoni, neighbors and merchants from the neighborhood also went, the plumber who makes arrangements in the flat, members of an oenagé who from time to time give him a hand and also a glance.. “It was very unpleasant, this is not how an old woman is treated!”. “Yes, María is 94 years old, and Lino, about 40. The life expectancy of these animals is about 30 years. They are two old men. Was it really necessary to separate them now?” “Lino doesn’t know any other life. It has never been related to other monkeys.” “If they think that María can’t take care of him, maybe the solution is to help her.” “It is true that nowadays the law prohibits having a primate in the city, but 40 years ago you could buy a monkey on the Rambla”.
Rafael Martínez, from the oenagé of the neighborhood De Veí a Veí, explains that this organization has been helping María for several years. “In reality, we are talking about the care of a 94-year-old woman who lives alone. Leaving her suddenly without Lino is a very hard blow for her. The laws are clear, but other possibilities should have been foreseen”. And Lidia Núñez, from the Som Sant Antoni trade association, explains that they will now try to get someone from the neighborhood to adopt Luana, the dog, so that María can see her again. “And, well, it seems that Lino is in some facilities of the Mona foundation in Riudellots de la Selva – adds the representative of the traders’ association. We hope to organize an excursion soon to go see him and bring María some photos. Maybe she can visit him too. We’ll see…”.
