Brits Own 500 Monkeys
Britons privately own almost 500 assorted monkeys, according to research into the wild animal-keeping habits of British residents.
The Big Cats in Britain (BCIB) Research Group has found that the number of monkeys in private hands is twice the number of poisonous snakes owned privately, but well below the 2,000 ostriches that are in private ownership.
Also accounted for were more than 150 big cats, including 12 lions, 14 tigers and 50 leopards.
"The information so far is very much raw data and the group will be discussing this information in detail at our yearly British Big Cat Conference in Hull in March 2007," said Shaun Stevens, BCIB member who collated the results.
"Although these animals are regarded by law as dangerous, the public should rest assured, that these animals very rarely escape; and where escapes are reported the animals tend to be recaptured quickly and without any harm to the public."
Some 50 members of the crocodile family were also accounted for, as were the more than 300 American bison that can be found in the countryside.
It is not known whether the privately-owned monkeys in Britain have been piling on the pounds like their monkey friends in China, which have recently been put on a diet to stop them eating junk food.
http://www.cartridgemonkey.com/news.php/articleid/18019794: 29th December 2006
