The Head of World Wide Fund for Nature in New Zealand says there's no illegal monkey market in New Zealand, which makes a break in at Wellington Zoo all the more bizarre.
It was initially thought that a squirrel monkey went missing during the break-in, but it was later discovered hiding in its enclosure. Photo: Supplied/ Wellington Zoo
On Sunday, Wellington Zoo discovered there had been a break in at their Golden Lion Tamarin habitat and the Bolivian Squirrel monkey enclosure.
It was initially thought one of the squirrel monkeys had been stolen, but it was later found scared and hiding.
Several monkeys had injuries, with one receiving serious bruising to their elbow from being pulled.
Police and zoo staff are investigating the break in.
WWF chief executive, Livia Esterhazy said it's not something you'd expect to happen in this country.
"I've need ever heard of an act as preposterous as this in New Zealand.
"It is illegal to keep monkeys in New Zealand and there's no way these monkeys could be sold anywhere," she said.
Ms Esterhazy said there is still an illegal market for monkeys overseas, but it would be very tough to reach those markets from New Zealand.
She said at WWF they're working to make it clear it's unacceptable, wherever you are on the planet.
"At WWF we have a dedicated group called Traffic, which works tirelessly across the globe to stop poaching as well as trafficking of beautiful, priceless animals."
In particular they're working to stop trading on internet platforms and they've recently got the Chinese equivalent of Ebay on board.
Back in Wellington, anyone who may have seen anything suspicious or has information which could assist is being encouraged to contact Wellington Police.
