East Huntspill couple want to give monkeys a good home (From This is The West Country)

East Huntspill couple want to give monkeys a good home

4:30pm Sunday 17th June 2012 in Somerset By Kirsty James

AN East Huntspill couple are seeking a new home for their four orphaned monkeys.

Maria and Colin Fountain took in three spider monkeys and one Saki monkey after they were rejected by their mothers.

Three of the animals came from the Cotswold Wildlife Centre and the fourth was from a private owner.

In 2003, the Fountains passed Flint, Pumpkin, Jethro and Hickory on to East Huntspill wildlife rescue centre Secret World, which can no longer keep them as the charity’s trustees want to build a new wildlife teaching facility on the same site.

Maria said: “They have specific needs and should not be kept as pets, so we need to find the best place to keep them.

“We spent around £6,000 creating the facilities for them at Secret World, so we’re looking to raise that amount again to build a new enclosure. We’ve been selling off treasured possessions to raise funds.

“We can’t take them to a zoo because we would have to sign the animals over and we want to still be involved with them. We started this and we will go the full 100 miles with them.”

Simon Kidner, son of Secret World founder Pauline Kidner, said: “Secret World wants to buy the land freehold from our family and, as stipulated by the Charity Commission, they can’t buy land on which there are currently tenants, which the monkeys are.

“The monkeys also don’t form part of the charity’s core activities. We have been helping to identify a suitable location for them and we’ve recently had more enquiries.

“We understand the Fountains’ position, and that the monkeys need a home, but the charity also needs to move forward.”

Anyone with fundraising ideas or who can offer a space for a 30ft x 40ft outside enclosure and a 16ft x 10ft inner space can visit www.spiritmonkey.co.uk to contact the Fountains or to donate.