ANIMAL TRAFFICKING

Lemurs, rare white-lipped tamarins stolen from French animal park

Issued on: 24/08/2021 - 

Lemurs similar to those stolen at the weekend. 

© AFP/Andreas Solaro

Text by: RFI

Two tamarins and ten lemurs were stolen from a zoo in Upie in the Drôme region on Sunday night. According to the park manager, the burglary was probably carried out by animal traffickers.

The theft was discovered on Monday morning. The person in charge of the primates and new species sector of the animal park found that the shelter for the tamarins and lemurs was virtually empty, after a burglary during the night, reports France Bleu Drôme Ardèche.

Of the eleven lemurs, only one remained in the enclosure.

Two labiate tamarins, small monkeys with a white stripe like a moustache, and which arrived at the zoo in May as part of a rare species conservation programme, were also stolen.

The white-lipped tamarin, also known as the red-bellied tamarin, lives in the Amazon area of Brazil and Bolivia. © Wikimedia/CC

"It took years of work to get a brand new building fitted out," says Alexandre Liauzu, the zoo's manager.

Animal traffickers

According to him, the burglary was the work of animal traffickers: "It was an apparently well-organised commando that probably followed an order. The traffickers don't know where to find the animals so they come to the zoos. It's often the same species that are targeted," he explains.

"We hope that this bad moment will be quickly forgotten and that people will be able to give information to the police," concluded the manager.

The manager has announced that he had filed a complaint.

The establishment has already received numerous messages of support.