New York: Investigators remove illegal pet monkey from Long Island home

NEW YORK -- Authorities say they’ve seized a small pet monkey from a Long Island home because the owner did not have a required permit.

The Suffolk County Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals says investigators removed the Capuchin monkey from a home in Brentwood on Friday. They say the monkey’s owner was keeping it as a pet but didn’t have a permit.

Chief Roy Gross says the monkey will be taken to a licensed facility. He says are Capuchin monkeys are native to the forests of Central and South America and can be dangerous and spread infection diseases.

Gross says the monkey’s owner was cited for a charge of illegally possessing an animal.

Capuchin monkeys grow to about 1 to 2 feet long and weigh 3 to 9 pounds.

(New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV - May 22, 2016)