The saga of Justin Bieber’s separation from his recently gifted pet capuchin monkey Mally has acquired a new, movie-like twist.
German authorities have given the 19-year-old just four weeks to claim Mally from quarantine or he will be placed in permanent care.
To recap: Last Thursday the pop star jetted into Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss airport with Mally to perform at a Believe tour concert that same night.
Sadly, customs officials quarantined the monkey when Bieber couldn’t produce a health certificate and other necessary documentation.
Reportedly “heartbroken” about the monkey’s removal and locked into a 125-date world tour, Bieber will need to make sure he doesn’t miss his four week window of opportunity.
If he does, several zoos have offered to give the monkey a home if the singer fails to reclaim it in time. The prospect of boosting visitor numbers by housing a monkey that was once the plaything of a teen idol — however briefly — has nothing to do with that of course.
Further criticism of Bieber — just in case he hasn’t had enough — came from the shelter, who said in a Tuesday interview that the 14-week-old monkey shouldn’t have been taken away from its mother until it was a year old.
Mally was removed at between nine to ten weeks old.
Animal shelter boss Karl Heinz Joachim also said the capuchin refused to eat at first until he was given a cuddly toy to cling to.
For added emotional punch Mail Online posted a picture of the monkey staring despondently at a picture of Bieber’s Believe album cover, proving that the art of contrived photo set-ups is alive and kicking.
Austrian vet Kurt Grabenwoeger also waded into the row. Describing Mally’s too early separation as “monstrous,” the vet added:
“These monkeys not only need to be with their mothers for at least a year – but they should also be surrounded by their family group.They are living creatures – not celebrity accessories like a handbag. Imagine a human baby sent off on a world tour at 10 weeks – would anyone allow that?”
If, and when, his so far appalling PR team manage to arrange for Bieber to be snapped reunited with Mally, there will be plenty of flashbulbs to capture the money shot moment.
Reporters from around the world have descended on the animal shelter where Mally is being kept, and now that the countdown to ‘Saving Primate Mally’ is well and truly on — that’s where they’ll remain.
Shelter boss Joachim told Spiegel Online :
“If the monkey is not picked up, then we will give him away. We have already received inquiries from various zoos in the UK and Holland, who would be willing to accept him. We will not be giving him away to a private owner.”
Having just played Hamburg, the Believe world tour now rolls on to Frankfurt.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Bieber and a monkey called Mally.
[ Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com ]