After months of bitter quarreling, sinister threats, online petitions and even a temporary custody dispute, Toronto’s monkey trial finally got underway last week in an Oshawa courtroom. In case you’ve been living up a tree for the past six months, the trial revolves around the most famous little monkey in the world, Darwin, a baby Japanese macaque who was found wandering an IKEA parking lot last December wearing a rather fashionable coat.
Darwin was confiscated by Toronto Animal Services and sent to Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario, the only sanctuary in Canada dedicated to giving a quiet, stable home to abandoned, abused or otherwise homeless monkeys. Story Book is operated by Sherri Delaney and her husband along with a staff of dedicated volunteers, all of whom have extensive experience with animal husbandry and some of whom work fulltime at the Toronto Zoo.
Yasmin Nakhuda, who in her own words is Darwin’s “mother,” is suing to get Darwin back, and she took the stand last week to testify. She reportedly claims an officer with Animal Services tricked her into signing away ownership of Darwin. She testified that she thought she was only surrendering Darwin temporarily so he could be tested for diseases.
Surely a lawyer like Ms. Nakhuda would understand the consequences of a “surrender” form as it pertains to the illegal exotic animal she’s recently misplaced. But let’s ignore the absurdity of her claim for just a moment and instead focus on the emails that came to light in pre-trial proceedings that will undoubtedly play a big role in determining the outcome of this case.
In the emails Nakhuda sent to a primate trainer not long after she took Darwin home, Nakhuda admitted that Darwin was being aggressive with her sons and her coworkers, that he had bitten her when she tried to change his diaper, and that she had been forced to smack the monkey in the nose with a wooden spoon to discipline him.
She also wrote this: “Taking Darwin home was the biggest mistake of my life.”
When questioned about this comment, Nakhuda compared the email to a conversation with a doctor. “You don’t talk about the good things,” she reportedly said. “You only talk about the problems.”
But how many good things could there have been if, having taken an objective measure of her situation, Nakhuda came to the conclusion that she had made the biggest mistake of her life? He’s cute, and he smiled at me once, but I can’t seem to get his diaper off. Oh, and I’m bleeding… she might've written. No wonder the judge in this case cited credibility issues with Nakhuda when deciding to leave Darwin at Story Book until the end of the trial.
This is the problem with big mistakes: they tend to be big, they tend to be mistakes, and they also tend to become someone else’s problem.
Ever since Darwin arrived at Story Book he has made leaps and bounds (literally and figuratively). He has shown no signs of missing Nakhuda. Although he is housed alone (as per court order) he is bonding long-distance with an olive baboon named Sweet Pea who is housed nearby.
Unfortunately, thanks to Nakhuda’s small yet persistent army of hecklers, life for the humans at Story Book has been one long nightmare. A series of menacing and wildly indecent messages have been left on the sanctuary’s phone. Mysterious vehicles have turned up at the farm to harass and frighten the sanctuary workers, leading to a tightening of security. On Facebook, all manner of insults and attacks have rained down on Story Book since December.
Ms. Delaney, the founder and director of Story Book who also happens to be a Durham Region police officer, has watched a handful of bullies attempt to drag her stellar reputation through the mud. And all because she did exactly what we all hope our children have the guts and determination to do when they grow up: she identified a serious problem in her society—the exotic pet trade—and decided to do something about it.
Ms. Delaney gives a home and a voice to just a few of the countless animals who are enslaved, traumatized and tortured by the exotic pet industry, an industry that quietly relies on “owners” like Ms. Nakhuda and her supporters to spread the false gospel that exotic animals make great household pets, and that sharing one’s life with a monkey or a wallaby or a caiman crocodile does not inevitably lead to disaster and heartbreak in equal measure, if not something even worse.
It is illegal to own a monkey in Toronto for several very good reasons, and the only reason it isn’t illegal in every jurisdiction in Canada is because exotic animals are covered by municipal bylaws, which often only get written after a community faces its first real challenge on an issue. This is exactly why officials in Kawartha Lakes began drafting a bylaw against the possession of exotic animals when they heard Nakhuda had offered to move there.
If it is true that Toronto Animal Services had no authority to confiscate Darwin from Ms. Nakhuda, then we must all agree that our bylaw needs an overhaul. It makes absolutely no sense, legal or moral, to fine someone for possessing illegal items and to then simply hand those illegal items back once the cheque has cleared (see my oft-cited pot-smoking analogy from a previous blog post).
Last December, Toronto Animal Services called Ms. Delaney and asked if she could give a home to a lost and terrified infant monkey. If she had said no, Darwin might well have been euthanized. She said yes, and now she and her staff are paying an inconceivable price. If the judge finds for Ms. Nakhuda, it’s possible that Story Book could be forced to pay some or all of the court costs. These expenses would bring Story Book to its knees.
When Ms. Nakhuda brought Darwin home for the first time she was indeed making a big mistake. But that was nothing compared to the one she’s making now. To be caught breaking the law, and to then sue the only people who have the knowledge, patience and commitment to provide Darwin with a safe and proper home is the height of childishness. Ms. Nakhuda can now add another whopping blunder to her growing list.
P.S. Apparently CNN’s Anderson Cooper has developed quite the crush on Darwin, having covered the story from the beginning and having tried to get Darwin to appear on his show. Thankfully, Mr. Cooper has been responsible with his humour, making sure to point out that no matter how cute Darwin is, he shouldn’t be in a human home.
