They rescue a squirrel monkey in the town of Kennedy

The local mayor's office of Kennedy reported that they rescued a squirrel monkey in the María Paz neighborhood, this during one of the sterilization days they regularly carry out in the sector. Apparently, the alert was issued by neighbors in the sector, which allowed the police to react promptly.

“In the company of protectionists, we rescued a squirrel monkey in the María Paz neighborhood, which was kept as a pet in an apartment in the sector. The case was reported by a member of the community. The animal was handed over to the Environmental Police. Denunciation in 123,” the Kennedy Mayor's Office said on Twitter.

And they added that “the animal was handed over to the Environmental and Ecological Police, who verified the status of the monkey and took it to the Bogotá Environment Secretariat to begin the processes of recovery, rehabilitation and subsequent freedom in the natural habitat.”

For its part, the District Secretariat for the Environment recommends some steps to provide temporary care to wildlife:

1. Check if the individual is injured or in vulnerable condition (it is important to keep a distance to ensure the well-being of both the individual and the citizen).

2. Once the situation of the previous step has been identified, call the competent Environmental Authority, which in the case of Bogotá is the District Secretariat of the Environment and report the situation.

3. Only if the individual requires immediate attention can the citizen proceed to rescue him and pay attention to him following the instructions and/or recommendations given by the District Secretariat for the Environment (specific indications will be given according to the species, condition and condition of the animal).

4. Wait for the Entity's rescue unit to recover it.

The secretariat requests that to report cases of wild animals as pets you can contact the lines (601) 377 8854 and 377 8899 or by email fauna@ambientebogota.gov.co.

It is noteworthy that wild animals are victims of illegal trafficking in Bogotá and in 2021 turtles, parakeets, pumas and sloths were rescued. The balance of recovered fauna is:

- 25 fish 'blue-eyed cuchas'

-1,936 matamata tortugas

-2 morrocoy turtles and a charapa turtle

-A female cougar

-Two parakeets and 1,851 grams of meat and turtle eggs

-More than 2,700 grams of meat, turtle eggs

-50,000 grams of armadillo, chigüiro, ñeque and turtle meat

- 3,493 shark fins

-A sloth bear

- 232 tarantulas, 67 cockroaches and a scorpion

Faced with the increase in animal trafficking, the Secretariat indicated that “the Mobile Wildlife Unit travels the streets of our city to rescue wild animals in vulnerable conditions or that have been victims of illegal trafficking.”

In addition, the entity works in conjunction with the Center for the Attention and Assessment of Wild Flora and Fauna, the Environmental and Ecological Police, the District Institute for Animal Protection and Welfare. It also highlighted that during 2021 nearly 400 wild animals and more than 11,000 specimens were recovered, of which 7,058 were individuals alive and 159 dead.

“Bogotá, being the capital of Colombia, has the characteristic of being the epicenter and exit of people and, therefore, has become the obligatory passage for wildlife traffickers. Among the animals that are most marketed are: reptiles, mammals and birds,” said the entity.

In the country with the Law on Environmental Crimes, trafficking in wildlife was enshrined in article 328A, which states that “whoever traffics, acquires, exports or markets specimens, products or parts of aquatic, wild or wild fauna without the permission of the competent authority or in breach of existing regulations exotic, shall incur imprisonment for 60 to 135 months and a fine of 300 to 40,000 statutory minimum monthly wages in force”.

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