Justin Bieber is apparently too busy getting three tattoos in the span of one week and trying to win Selena Gomez back. He simply doesn’t have time to worry about reclaiming his pet capuchin, Mally, who was confiscated by Munich customs authorities on March 28.
After the animal was seized when Bieber was unable to present proper papers, the baby monkey was turned over to Munich Tierschutzverein, a shelter in Munich. The Associated Press reported that Bieber’s management team emailed the animal sanctuary to see if the animal would be euthanized. Upon learning that animals were not put to sleep in German shelters, Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, asked for referrals to a zoo that would accept the monkey.
“Would you happen to have any recommendations for places that Mally would be safe and thrive?” he wrote.
Although Bieber technically has until May 17 to submit health papers for Mally, it seems he isn’t going to try. Heinz Joachmin, director of the shelter where Mally is being detained, said the monkey is actually better off in the care of professionals — especially since it’s just a few months old.
“[They] indicated that they want the monkey back,” he told the Daily Mail earlier this month. “But that just isn’t acceptable [because] the baby monkey needs company and to be with other monkeys at this crucial age in its life … [He] was never going to be suited to be on a world tour, even if he is travelling by private jet. He should be out in the wild climbing trees.”
According to E! Online, the ultimate decision rests with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Roberto Mioni Coltro, a spokesperson for Munich Tierschutzverein, said, “We only can make a recommendation and we don´t want to send Mally in the zoo, because the zoos will only [publicize] Mally…We (Tierschutzverein) want Mally in a rescue center or some organization for primates.”
Even if he decides to forfeit Mally, Bieber will still be responsible for the shelter fees. Still, that’s probably just a drop in the bucket for the teenage millionaire.
The real issue is whether Bieber was even a suitable guardian for the monkey in the first place. Much of the blame should rest with producer Jamal “Mally Mall” Rashid, who gifted the pop star the monkey. He should have known that a jet-setting singer is not the ideal owner of a high-needs pet, especially one in its crucial early development stages. In fact, capuchins aren’t considered adults until the age of eight — which means Mally is more than seven years from maturation. At this point, proper care is necessary to set Mally up for a healthy emotional and physical life.
“These monkeys not only need to be with their mothers for at least a year, but they should also be surrounded by their family group. They are living creatures — not celebrity accessories like a handbag,” said Kurt Grabenwoeger, an Austrian veterinarian to London Evening Standard. “Imagine a human baby sent off on a world tour at ten weeks — would anyone allow that?”
