Mally, Justin Bieber’s pet monkey, has reportedly been handed over to a zoo to keep after the singer failed to collect him in time.
The capuchin monkey was seized by German customs in March when Justin Bieber, 19, failed to produce the required vaccination and import papers after landing in Munich for a European tour.
Authorities issued an order this week transferring ownership of the animal to Germany after Justin Bieber missed a deadline to send the documents, customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.
Mally, now 20 weeks old, was being cared for at Munich’s animal shelter. He has fared well and gained weight and even got a visit Tuesday from Germany’s environment minister.
“We are going to make sure that Mally can grow up appropriately for its species,” said minister Peter Altmaier.
The shelter has criticized Justin Bieber for keeping such a young monkey as a pet, saying it shouldn’t have been taken away from its mother until it was a year old. Experts say capuchin monkeys also need to be kept in groups, not alone.
“Monkeys are very sociable animals,” Peter Altmaier added.
“That’s why we’re going to take Mally to a place where he can live safely and in the company of others.”
Reports claim Mally is already living at a zoo in Germany, although the exact location hasn’t been confirmed in a bid to keep the primate safe and avoid security problems.
Thomas Meister said a bill for Mally’s care – which he estimated to be several thousand euros (dollars) – would be sent to Justin Bieber.
Justin Bieber has six weeks to contest the decision.
Although he seems to be caught up in his own fair share of problems at the moment which will be keeping him occupied.
Justin Bieber faced criticism from rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who branded him an “a**hole” this week for previously making his young fans wait a couple of hours at his London concert in March.
“Every generation has guys that do that, none of that is new,” Jon Bon Jovi told the London Evening Standard.
“They run the risk of disrespecting their audience members who have worked hard to pay for their ticket, to give you the permission to take two or three hours of their lives – or in that kid’s case, 80 minutes of their lives.
“Do it once, you can be forgiven. Do it enough times and shame on you. They won’t have you back. Then it just becomes a cliché. It’s really not cool – you’re an a**hole. Go to f***in’ work!”
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