French police hunt 17 rare monkeys after theft from zoo

Police are hunting across France for 17 rare monkeys that were stolen from a zoo south of Paris over the weekend, the zoo's director has said.

The seven golden lion tamarins and 10 silver marmosets, all owned by the Brazilian government, were taken on Saturday from the Beauval zoo, about 200km from Paris, by what officials describe as "experts".

“No idea why they were taken. It’s an outrageous theft. These are extremely fragile animals that need specific care,” zoo director Rodolphe Debord told reporters.

Despite security cameras and extra night patrols, the thieves were able to cut through a glass window to steal the monkeys.

Police had opened an investigation and were trawling through CCTV footage, Mr Debord said.

‘Extremely rare’

“These are extremely rare, threatened monkeys,” Mr Debord said, noting that it was a big loss for conservation efforts for the species.

The monkeys had specific dietary requirements and vets had been treating one of them daily for an injury to its tail.

“These thieves knew exactly what monkeys they wanted to steal,” he said. “There are two possibilities . . . either a collector or the black market for new types of pets.”

France-based environmental association Robin des Bois said in a statement that there had been a rise across the world in the smuggling of rare monkeys since 2011, including the theft of five tamarin monkeys in Blackpool in April 2014.

A tamarin can fetch between €5,000 to €10,000 on the black market, it said.

Reuters