CONVICTED (2012) | Lee Powell, born c. 1961, and partner Julie Ann Jones, born c. 1970, both of 3 Sunderland Drive, Stourbridge DY8 4LD – sold a crippled and  badly-nourished monkey as a pet instead of taking him to a vet for treatment

Powell and Jones were convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a four-month-old marmoset, known as Mikey.

The monkey was sold for £650 but his injuries were found to be so severe he later had to be put down.

Vets said the baby marmoset had bone disease and fractures as a result of the couple’s failure to care for him properly.

Powell and Jones previously denied being aware of any problems with the animal which they sold to a woman in the car park of a fish and chip shop in June 2011.

The buyer, Sheila Lister, took the monkey to an exotic pet dealer who alerted the RSPCA to his poor condition.

Pet shop owner Jimmy Wick said as soon as he had seen Mikey he knew something was seriously wrong.

He said: “For a young monkey to have so many broken bones at different rates of healing means it’s just not one thing that’s happened to him – it was just awful to see.

“He couldn’t walk properly, he would commando-crawl.”

Mr Wick said when he had tried to introduce the marmoset to an adult female that had babies of her own, Mikey had been unable to cling on to her because of his many injuries.

He said: “It was crying its eyes out because it wanted to get to her.
“It broke my heart to see it.”

RSPCA inspector Jackie Hickman said when she had looked into Mikey’s eyes she thought she could read his emotions but had felt powerless to save him.

She said: “I’m pleased the court’s viewed this seriously.

“It’s a situation where these animals shouldn’t really be kept as pets, but it’s commonly happening.”

Sentencing: 12-month community order with 300 hours of unpaid work; ordered to pay £2,713.50 towards the RSPCA’s costs and compensation to Ms Lister of £325 each. Banned from keeping animals for life.

BBC News
Daily Mail