Just when you thought you’d seen everything, a monkey in a diaper is spotted in a Walmart parking lot.
Last Sunday, at a Walmart in Lancaster, Ohio, an employee had a run-in with a monkey who had escaped from a recreational vehicle, according to reports.
In a video captured by a bystander, a woman is seen attempting to separate the monkey from the worker. She frantically yells, “Let him go! Let him go! Let him go! If he bites you, they will put him down.”
A spokesperson for Walmart said that the employee had not been bitten and that he had grabbed the monkey’s leash in an attempt to return him to the woman.
Currently, government officials are attempting to track down the woman in the video. They are concerned that the monkey may not have been registered, which is required if the owner is an Ohio resident. But registered or not, wild animals should not be confined to campers or kept as “pets.” Both the monkey and the Walmart employee are lucky that neither of them was injured.
The exotic animal trade is big business. Selling protected wildlife in stores, auctions, or on the Internet is one of the largest sources of criminal earnings, behind only arms smuggling and drug trafficking. But the animals pay the highest price. Exotic animals kept as “pets” often suffer from malnutrition, loneliness, and the overwhelming stress of confinement to an unnatural and uncomfortable environment.
What You Can Do
Never buy exotic animals from dealers or pet shops, and support legislation that would make owning them illegal and prohibit selling them across state lines.
