CONVICTED (2017) | notorious career criminal Zuriel Hutson, born 17/09/1995, of Highbury New Park, London N5 2LH – kept a neglected marmoset monkey in his bedroom
Hutson, who was jailed in April 2017 for careering down the wrong side of the M11 at 90mph following a phone snatch, was found guilty of failing to ensure the welfare of an animal he was responsible for.
The court heard he kept a baby marmoset monkey in a small bird cage in his one-bed flat in Highbury New Park.
Police said they found the creature while searching his home in October 2016.
“A primate expert attended the address and made it clear that the environment the monkey was being kept in was not suitable,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.
“There were not correct or adequate provisions present to feed or look after the animal.”
The monkey was seized and a primate expert found she was underweight, “lacking in muscle tone” and suffering from a “dirty, ungroomed coat”.
“The marmoset was experiencing unnecessary suffering, both physically and mentally,” added police.
Det Con Ben Jefferd said: “It is obviously very cruel to keep any animal, let alone an exotic monkey, in such poor conditions without the proper training or understanding of its needs. Amy is now safe and enjoying the facilities kindly supplied at Monkey World.”
Sentencing: fined £500 and ordered to pay court costs of £650. Banned from keeping animals indefinitely.
Update December 2019
Hutson was jailed for 10 years for robbery.