The following is a summary of the article "Monkeys the new weapon of Paris gangs" by Jon Henley of Guardian Unlimited (www.guardianunlimited.co.uk):
Attack Monkeys now Weapon of Choice of Paris Gangs
According to
French authorities, because the
government has
banned Dobermans,
Rottweilers, and other
dangerous dogs, French
street gangs have been
forced to choose another
animal to
scare their
opponents: attack monkeys. These monkeys are
very fashionable in Paris, and the kids take good care of them, but they can be
dangerous. The monkeys have been
illegally imported from
Africa through
Spain and are known for their
strong bodies, strong
jaws, and their
agressive tendencies. They are normally very peaceful monkeys but their
natural habitat is
deserts in Africa and according to the
natural history museum, when they are out of their natural habitat they can be very irritable. With monkeys being the "weapon of choice", monkey fights are common in
tower block basements in Paris.
Paris' Growing Monkey Control Problem
Their have been
dozens of
reports and
calls to local
police stations and
animal control agencies with people wanting to know how to deal with
violent monkey attacks or how to get
rid of them. None of the
zooswant the monkeys because they have grown up out of their natural habitat and will not live with
other monkeys. Paris
animal homes are now being filled with over
40 monkeys in
18 months.