Parole unlikely for inmates of monkey prison

Parole unlikely for inmates of monkey prison Officials say 11 inmates at India's only monkey jail are unlikely to ever be released. The prison in Patiala houses monkeys apprehended by game wardens in Punjab state for thieving and attacking people. Hindu beliefs in Hanuman, the monkey god, mean even rampaging monkeys are not destroyed by the authorities. The Daily Telegraph reports how the monkeys at the prison in Motibagh Bir Zoological Park snarl and glare at visitors from their heavily-barred cages. Two monkeys were released a year ago after exhibiting good behaviour for 18 months in the jail. They have remained out of trouble. But jailer Ram Tirath said the present inmates were too wild: "All 11 monkeys are hard cases who have been apprehended by game wardens for thieving, terrorising and biting people. It's unlikely any of that any of them will ever be paroled." Problems with badly behaved monkeys in both the countryside and cities has increased over recent years in India. One monkey was recently "arrested" for attacking students on the campus of Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, another pair were caught after stealing handbags from women and a monkey is being hunted for attacking eight children over the last month in a New Dehli suburb. Troops of monkeys have also caused chaos after spreading into government buildings in New Dehli, even the HQ of the Indian Air Force. Wildlife officials believe part of the problem has been caused by thieves training monkeys to help them, lorry drivers training monkeys as guards for vehicles and itinerant entertainers using ill-treated monkeys as part of their act. Often the monkeys are abandoned when they turn violent or rebellious. Story filed: 11:04 Saturday 12th January 2002 http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_493499.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com