A woman who kept a baby meerkat in her bedroom after it was stolen from the Perth Zoo has received a harsher penalty than the man who took the animal from its enclosure.

Key points: The magistrate found the decision to keep the stolen meerkat warranted a jail term

The magistrate found the decision to keep the stolen meerkat warranted a jail term He said he found it hard to accept a fine was an appropriate penalty for the theft

He said he found it hard to accept a fine was an appropriate penalty for the theft The court heard the animal has been reintegrated into the meerkat enclosure

Aimee Cummins shook and sobbed as she was given a seven-month suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a charge of receiving the four-week-old meerkit in September last year.

In November, Jesse Ray Hooker, an associate of Cummins, was fined $4,000 after admitting he scooped up the meerkat from its enclosure.

He said he had done so because he had fallen in love with it and wanted it as a pet.

In sentencing Cummins, Chief Magistrate Steven Heath said while he had not heard the facts of Hooker's offence he had "had difficulty accepting that the fine was an appropriate penalty".

Aimee Cousins collapsed in court before hearing the jail term imposed would be suspended. ( ABC News: Joanna Menagh )

He said in his view keeping an animal stolen from the zoo was a very serious offence and warranted a seven-month term of imprisonment.

At that point Cummins cried out "what", and collapsed into a chair before Mr Heath went on to explain that the term would be suspended for 12 months.

The court was told Cummins "had full knowledge" that the meerkat had been stolen when she and Hooker left the zoo carpark.

The animal was found two days later at Cummins's Beverley home in a storage chest in her bedroom.

Jesse Hooker (l), who was fined $4,000 for stealing the meerkat, stands behind his lawyer Chad Silver. ( ABC News: David Weber )

Her lawyer John Rando said his client weighed only 39 kilograms and suffered from depression and anxiety, and had not been able to work for several years.

He said the meerkat was returned to the zoo in "good health" and had been reintegrated in its enclosure.

Mr Rando requested that Cummins be granted a spent conviction order, which meant she would not have a criminal record, but that was refused by Mr Heath.

The court heard police and zoo staff issued pleas for the return of the animal, and Mr Heath noted that despite those calls Cummins kept the animal until it was recovered by police.

Cummins made no comment as she left court supported by a friend.