Macaque Madness

 
The face of an unwanted,  cast aside, wild animal, the Rhesus Macaque.
This image: Bob Gottschalk, a local who loves them

I first heard about this man over the weekend, but did not have the time to write.
By today,  I could wait no more and needed to share this story with all of you.
It seems that in Florida, you can do practically anything to an unwanted, wild animal for a small fee, perhaps this also applies in other states?
Since 1998,  a man, or more precisely, a trapper named Scott Cheslak, has traveled down here from South Carolina, to the beautiful Silver Springs area, to capture and transport wild monkeys, to date the number he has  taken is over 700. ( this number has just been disputed as being too high )
It is what he does/did with them,  that is the what we who love wildlife object to with absolute horror.
The extremely sad details of his actions, are in the stories below, if you wish to know them.
My primary reason for wanting to bring this quite quickly to the attention of those of you who live outside our area is this:  Why is this legal anywhere?
I am sure that this monster/person will now go elsewhere and find another species of innocent animal to procure for the very same evil purpose.
The hunting, trapping, transporting, selling of any wild animal to be used in such a vile manner is despicable, yet people like this man always seem to find a species and a place to do this.
Why do the rest of us allow this to go on?
We know it is cruel and inhumane, don’t we?
Who speaks for these creatures who are suffering?
I would like to believe that it is because this crime was not known to the general public, or at least not publicized widely.
Have Humans  at  some point in our species evolution/history, lost our moral compass, our spark of righteous indignation, when it comes to the welfare, or well-being of those that we share this planet with?
If like me, you are sickened by this man’s cruel actions if what he chooses to do for a living, appalls you, please let those who can chastise and punish him appropriately,  be made fully aware of your total disgust.
No, these are not our precious personal pets, they are not the pampered, spoiled dogs, cats or other, that we share our lives with, these are unwanted, abandoned, wild animals, that did not choose to be where they are today, they were supposedly originally a part of a ”Jungle Cruise” business here in Florida long ago, that were given no respect then and are given even less today.
Now they are abandoned, unwanted wild animals with few defenders.
What right does anyone have to inflict a lifetime of pain and misery on them?
For more about this subject, please see this post:   What Right?
Now is your chance, speak up, let your voices be heard.
A petition for the Silver Springs, Florida Rhesus Macaques or monkeys is here:
Stop Trapping Silver River Monkeys

Here are some of the details of their story:
Wild Monkeys Safe From Trapping In 2013
Without Permits, Trapper Can’t Capture Monkeys
Trapper Can No Longer Sell Monkeys To Labs