A reward of up to £3,000 (€3,509) has been offered as authorities hunt for the person who abandoned a monkey on a London bus.
The female common marmoset was found last Friday aboard a 302 bus waiting in Kensal Rise, north-west London.
The discovery came after a mother was unable to push her buggy along the aisle because a laundry bag was protruding from the luggage bay.
As the driver moved the bag aside, the monkey — later named Oyster after London’s travel card — began “chirping and jumping”.
The RSPCA said the monkey was terrified after being left inside a cage (Photo credit: RSPCA)
Animal charity Peta is offering the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction over Oyster’s abandonment.
Chief Inspector Dew said the force will examine CCTV footage and records of passengers scanning on and off the bus to “see if we can locate the person who left her onboard”, adding: “It was clearly intentional.”
Peta Vice-President of Programmes Elisa Allen urged anyone with knowledge of the incident to come forward “so that whoever abandoned Oyster can be held accountable before endangering anyone else”.
“Abandoning an animal is an extraordinary betrayal. This monkey deserved care and protection, not to be discarded like rubbish,” she said.
The RSPCA fears the case could be the “first of many” abandonments following new legislation introduced in April requiring all primates kept in England to be licensed.
