While Justin Bieber has apparently rekindled his romance with Selena Gomez, he has abandoned his pet monkey Mally in Germany.
Mally, a 17-week-old capuchin monkey, was seized by customs authorities on March 28 when Bieber failed to produce the required papers after landing in Munich while on tour.
Judith Brettmeister, spokeswoman for the Munich Animal Protection League shelter, where Mally has been kept since then, said that her office has since received two emails from a representative saying he was with Bieber’s management company.
Brettmeister said she could not confirm that the emails were really from the management company, “though they appear to be.” Bieber’s representative did not immediately respond to an email requesting confirmation.
Brettmeister said the first email asked how long Bieber had to provide the paperwork before the monkey would be euthanised. The Animal Protection League replied that animals aren’t euthanised in German shelters.
Then, in a second email, the shelter is thanked for its help and told: “Our team is looking into the idea of placing Mally at a zoo in Germany. Would you happen to have any recommendations for places that Mally would be safe and thrive”
It continues: “Again, we are very concerned that Mally is safe and placed in the best possible residence.”
But customs spokesman Thomas Meister said that Mally will stay in the shelter until Bieber or someone with his power of attorney gets in touch with them directly.
Bieber has until May 17 to provide Mally’s paperwork, Meister said.
“If by May 17 there is nothing, then he loses ownership of the animal and it becomes the property of the Federal Republic of Germany,” he said.
“A baby monkey was never going to be suited to be on a world tour even if he is travelling by private jet,” Munich clinic boss Karl Heinz Joachim told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. “He should be out in the wild climbing trees and learning from other monkeys if he isn’t to have serious psychological problems later in life.”
Capuchin monkeys normally spend at least one year bonding with their mother, but Mally was given to Justin at just nine to ten-weeks-old. It has been reported the monkey has been crying out to find other members of its family.
If Bieber really does want to place the animal in a zoo, he is welcome to contact customs authorities and forfeit Mally at any time, but will likely have to pay costs associated with keeping the monkey so far and a fine, Meister said.
Meanwhile, Bieber has been spotted leaving a hotel in the Swedish capital with singer Selena Gomez, fuelling rumours the on-off couple are very much back together.
-with AP and Cover Media
Ad Feedback
