A rare pig-tailed macaque rescued this year been sent to a new home in Malaysia where they plan to release him back to his natural habitat, hopefully surrounded by bountiful banana trees.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore found the monkey at a car workshop in Defu Lane on May 6, following a tip-off from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society. He was chained and kept in a cage.
Its owner claimed the animal was abandoned there and proceeded to keep it as a pet illegally. He was later fined S$500.
As part of a collaborative effort to save, rehabilitate and rehome animals confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade, the AVA, ACRES and Wildlife Reserves Singapore worked together with Malaysian wildlife authorities to rehome the confiscated pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) in Malaysia.
The macaque was transported from the Singapore Zoo to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN Negeri Johor) on Aug 23, where it is being rehabilitated and quarantined at a Wildlife Rescue Centre before being assessed on its suitability to be released back to its natural habitat.
All macaques are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement to ensure that trade does not threaten wildlife species with extinction.
