Sentenced to Scotland: Gibraltar's stealing monkeys exiled
This story courtesy of The Olive Press, the local fortnightly English language paper:
Gibraltar’s
30 cheekiest apes sent to live in Scotland
PUBLISHED:
OCTOBER 15, 2014 AT 1:23 PM • LAST EDITED: OCTOBER 15, 2014 AT 1:23
PM
GIBRALTAR, LEAD2 • 5 COMMENTS
GIBRALTAR, LEAD2 • 5 COMMENTS
GIBRALTAR’S 30 worst offending
barbary apes have been sent to Scotland after too much monkeying around on The
Rock.
The apes – who have been harassing
locals, rummaging through bins and pick-pocketing tourists – have been
transported to Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling.
The move is the first large-scale
export of the apes away from The Rock since the 1990s and will prevent
Gibraltar’s environmental agency culling the iconic animals.
Gibraltar’s environment minister John
Cortes said: “This was the group that was giving us the most problems.
“It is sad to see them go, but they
will be going to an excellent home and it is so much better than culling them.
“We wish our monkeys a safe journey
and a happy future in Scotland.”
The marauding macaques – 11 males and
19 females – were identified as Gibraltar’s most mischievous by the
environmental agency after officials monitored their movements.
There are still around 200 apes on
the Rock and according to folklore, The Rock would cease to be British if the monkeys
leave.
This was reinforced by Winston
Churchill during the Second World War, when he shipped extra monkeys from
Morocco to bolster their population.
Barbary apes are also found in the
Rif mountains, in northern Morocco.
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