April 4, 2008

DENVER – The Denver Municipal Animal Shelter recently acquired six exotic guests. But the animals cannot be legally kept as pets in the state, and no one seems to know what to do with them.

Shelter Director Doug Kelley said he and the former owner of six Marmoset monkeys are working to find a sanctuary that will house the animals.

“We’re just going to have to figure out where they can go and what’s the best situation for them,” said Kelley.

The animals’ former owner moved to Colorado about a year ago from Florida, where owning the monkeys is legal.

However, in the Centennial State, it is not. Someone reportedly saw the exotic pets, called animal control and that’s how they ended up here.

“Seems as if someone worked with them, they seem fairly tame,” he said.

The owner has been cited for breaking state law, by the way Colorado is one of 19 U.S. states that have outlawed owning monkeys as pets.

“These animals will not be available for adoption,” said Kelley.

There is at least one exception to that law, in Colorado, anyway.

“The only exception, as I understand it, you can have a Capuchin monkey if it’s trained as a service animal,” said Kelley. “The message is; these (marmosets) are not the best pets.”

The owner has provided food for the Marmosets, and a sanctuary in Hawaii is being considered for their future home. A call to that sanctuary could not confirm the monkeys' future. However, because these animals are not pets, a sanctuary is likely the best place for them.

This type of monkey is native to South America. They grow to about eight inches long and are considered primitive as far as monkeys go.

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Matt Van Hoven, Pet Pulse; Jeffrey Wolf and Chris Vanderveen of KUSA TV contributed to this story.