AN animal sanctuary is laying on a special party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of a life-saving rescue.

The Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary in Looe is marking Joey the capuchin monkey’s salvation after nine years as a pet in conditions that left him disabled and traumatised.

Joey was taken from the rainforest in Suriname, South America; his mother was probably killed for bush meat.

He was then imported to the UK with paperwork that stated that he had been ‘rescued from the wild’. 

At around three months old, he began his life as someone’s pet, kept in a tiny cage in Hampstead, London.

The Sanctuary says: ‘Capuchins are highly social and intelligent monkeys. Joey was deprived of the company of his own kind, he was unable to exercise and had no access to natural sunlight.

‘Vitamin D deficiency left him severely disabled. His bones became deformed; he developed a fused spine, hip dysplasia and poorly formed jaw. He would have been in constant pain.

‘To try and cope with his situation, Joey would sit and rock all day, creating an open sore at the base of his spine.

‘For “company” Joey had a flat screen TV attached to the wall in front of his wardrobe-sized cage that was on 24 hours a day.’

His owner fled the country in 2007, and left her neighbour to visit and feed lonely Joey once a day. When the bailiffs arrived, the neighbour rang Wild Futures. 

At first carers at the charity had very grave concerns about his physical and psychological health, and thought that he may not survive.

But, said the Sanctuary: ‘Luckily Joey very quickly proved to be one of the most resilient characters that Wild Futures had ever met, with support and care he has amazed everyone who knows him.’

Rachel Hevesi, Director of Wild Futures, said: ‘Seeing Joey step outside for the first time in nine years brought tears to our eyes.

‘He was still fragile but the pleasure of feeling the sun on his face was obvious.  

‘Most importantly, he was fascinated by seeing the other monkeys.

‘His courage is remarkable and today he loves to play, groom, forage and explore with his monkey friends.

‘Every monkey deserves this opportunity and Joey inspires us all to continue our work to end the primate pet trade.’

Wild Futures are inviting people to come along to The Monkey Sanctuary on August 30 to mark the special day.

Artist Gareth Lloyd has drawn a portrait of Joey especially for his anniversary. This will be auctioned to raise funds for Wild Futures and the monkeys in their care.