Madras HC refuses to probe death of baby monkey at Vandalur Zoo
Following the court’s direction, the counsel appearing for the forest department submitted the post-mortem examination report and details of the treatment given to the monkey.
Madras High Court (File)
CHENNAI: Observing that the reality should be accepted, the Madras High Court refused to pass further orders in the case of the death of ‘Muthalali’, an infant monkey that sustained injuries from dog bites and died when it was under the care of Vandalur Zoo authorities.
Opining that death is not in anyone’s control, Justice CV Karthikeyan refused petitioner and veterinarian V Vallaiappan’s contention that the monkey succumbed to injuries due to the carelessness of zoo authorities. after
Following the court’s direction, the counsel appearing for the forest department submitted the post-mortem examination report and details of the treatment given to the monkey.
The counsel vehemently objected to the petitioner's contention and submitted that diligent care was given to the infant Bonnet Macaque as a specialized team continuously monitored the health of the baby monkey. Despite utmost care given to the monkey, unfortunately, its health deteriorated gradually, and it succumbed to the injuries, submitted the counsel.
The post-mortem report stated that the cause of death of the monkey was Myelomalacia (acute injury in the spinal cord). The report added samples collected from the monkey suggested no symptoms of Rabies.
The senior counsel R Sankarasubbu, appearing for the petitioner, raised suspicion about the death and sought the court for further investigation. However, the judge refused the contention and dismissed the plea.
In December last year, a forest officer brought a badly injured and rabies-infected baby monkey to Vallaiappan when he was deployed at Ranipet for a special camp.
The monkey was not able to move or excrete on its own as it was paralyzed below the hip due to the deadly attack of the stray dogs.
As the baby monkey was weak, the petitioner took personal care of the animal for the past ten months. However, the forest department took the baby monkey from Vallaiappan, and he knocked on the court's door for interim custody.
On November 14, the court refused to grant custody of the monkey to Vallaiappan and directed the zoo authorities to continue their treatment. However, on 21 November, the monkey succumbed to the injuries at the Zoo hospital.
