Darwin the Ikea monkey won’t be going home for the holidays, judge rules

National Post

Megan O'Toole | Dec 21, 2012 10:52 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 21, 2012 12:28 PM ET
More from Megan O'Toole | @megan_otoole

Tyler Anderson / National Post Yasmin Nakhuda, whose monkey Darwin was taken away from her after it was found wandering Ikea parking lot, leaves court in Oshawa, Ontario, December 21, 2012. She was denied custody of the monkey. 

 

Darwin the Ikea monkey will be returning to a primate sanctuary, instead of going home with his owner for Christmas, after a Superior Court judge handed down an interim custody order Friday.
In his much-anticipated ruling, Justice Michael Brown said for now, he favoured the “status quo” until more fulsome submissions on ownership could be made in January.

“Darwin is not a human being and [child custody laws] do not apply to Darwin,” he said, adding the affection both parties had for Darwin appeared “profound and real.”

A day earlier, lawyers for owner Yasmin Nakhuda and the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary delivered contrasting arguments on what kind of “property” Darwin was — a domesticated pet or a wild animal.

The case gained international attention after Ikea shoppers stumbled across the shearling-clad Japanese macaque, who had escaped from Ms. Nakhuda’s car, in the store’s parking lot this month. Darwin was quickly confiscated by Toronto animal-control officers, a move Ms. Nakhuda says left her with extreme anxiety.

Judge Brown’s interim ruling temporarily settles the custody issue as Ms. Nakhuda moves forward with her broader legal battle to get him back.

National Post