Justin Bieber News [VIDEO]: Monkey Settles Into New Home in Germany
Justin Bieber's former pet monkey was moved to his new residence in Germany, CBS reported Friday.
The 19-year-old pop star's 23-week-old capuchin, named Mally, was seized by German customs officials on March 28 after Bieber failed to produce required vaccination and import papers for the animal after landing in Munich. Bieber was traveling for a series of concerts as part of his world tour and he had until midnight on May 17 to produce those documents.
After officials did not receive any documents for Mally by the deadline, they formally ownership of the animal to the German state on May 21, customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.
German officials gave Bieber four weeks to pick up Mally, but the Canadian performer never contacted authorities to reclaim his pet.
Mally has now been moved to his new permanent residence at the Serengeti Wildlife Park in Hodenhagen, northern Germany.
View video of Mally in his new home here.
Before he was moved to the wildlife park, Mally was cared for at the Munich Animal Protection League shelter since he was quarantined and has fared well and gained weight. The shelter criticized Bieber for keeping the young monkey as a pet, saying the animal should not be taken away from its mother until it is a year old. Experts said capuchin monkeys also need to be kept in groups, not alone.
"He will go into our capuchin monkey enclosure where there is a lovely island that is 40 meters long and 20 meters wide. It has lots of trees so it will be a bit of a game to try and recognize him," said Fabrizio Sepe, head of the wildlife park.
Mally was taken to the park in secret for his protection but fans will now be able to visit the animal, Sepe said. While most animals stay in their transport containers for the first three days, Mally ventured out soon after arrival, he added.
"He came out straight away and jumped onto the carer's head and was immediately curious about everything," he said.
Sepe noted he had not heard from Bieber but added that he would be happy to give the singer information about Mally if he was interested.
