\n <\/p>\n
TORONTO\u2014Animal Justice, Canada\u2019s leading animal law organization, is calling on animal welfare authorities to seize and rescue Boogie, a young macaque monkey who is confined at a roadside zoo in Ontario. Boogie continues to exhibit signs of severe distress two years after her plight was first brought to the attention of authorities.<\/p>\n
In fall of 2022, Boogie gained\u00a0national attention<\/a>\u00a0after Animal Justice investigated a number of roadside zoos in Ontario, including Bervie Zoological Park in Kincardine where Boogie is held. Boogie was filmed biting herself and performing other repetitive\u00a0stereotypical<\/a>\u00a0behaviours which are typically a sign of mental anguish from the stress of confinement.<\/p>\n The footage aired on CTV\u2019s investigative affairs program W5. During the\u00a0broadcast,<\/a>\u00a0animal behaviour expert Dr. Georgia Mason of the Campbell Centre for Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph stated that this type of behaviour is indicative of poor welfare across the lifespan of an animal.<\/p>\n Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) had previously\u00a0seized<\/a>\u00a0and removed a number of animals from Bervie Zoo in 2022, including a baboon named Bruno, who was given a new lease on life at\u00a0Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary,<\/a>\u00a0a renowned rescue in Sunderland, Ontario.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Boogie did not share the same good fortune and continues to languish. Animal Justice visited the roadside zoo again in 2023 and after witnessing no real improvements, filed a complaint urging PAWS to investigate the conditions at the zoo.<\/p>\n Now, another year has passed, and Boogie continues to exhibit the same abnormal, deeply troubling behaviors. In video recorded in August, Boogie can be seen repeatedly biting herself, circling, pacing, and rocking in her small wire-fenced enclosure, all potential signs of psychological distress.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cBoogie\u2019s troubling behaviors have persisted for years, and it\u2019s time that authorities relocate her to a sanctuary with better conditions where her needs can be prioritized,\u201d said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice.\u201cWith most members of the public opposed to keeping animals in zoos, It\u2019s unacceptable that Boogie remains trapped at Bervie Zoo, apparently alone and suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n Animal Justice believes the best case scenario for Boogie is a sanctuary like Story Book Farm, which has high standards and prioritizes the needs of monkey residents. Animal Justice has shared its most recent findings in a\u00a0formal complaint<\/a>\u00a0to PAWS and is urging immediate action to help Boogie. Bervie Zoo is also currently facing 21 outstanding animal welfare-related\u00a0charges stemming from the 2022 seizures.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.muckrack.com\/pitches\/z4wU\/images\/copy-of-copy-of-2024-08-09-bervie-zoo-3512.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/media.muckrack.com\/pitches\/z4wU\/images\/copy-of-copy-of-2024-08-09-bervie-zoo-3512.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n