The monkeys at Frisky’s Wildlife and Animal Sanctuary are staying put for now.
The owners of the Woodstock sanctuary have appealed an October decision by Maryland?s second-highest court that says they cannot display wild and exotic animals because of a zoning regulation. They are waiting to see if Maryland?s highest court will hear their case.
“The story is not over,” said Peggy Stover-Catha, spokeswoman for the sanctuary.
Wildlife rehabilitator Colleen Layton has operated the nonprofit sanctuary in Howard County since 1976. She moved Frisky?s to its current location in 1993. At the facility, Layton and volunteers take care of about 200 animals at any time, including about 30 monkeys. The monkeys that come in are all former pets.
Neighbors Richard Wyckoff and Julianne Tuttle have been battling the sanctuary at the county and state level, arguing that its monkeys carry a public health risk because the animals carry disease.
They won an early victory in 2004 when the Howard County Board of Appeals ruled that Frisky’s could remain open but had to get rid of its monkeys.
An attorney for the neighbors opposing Frisky’s could not be reached for comment.
Layton says every monkey is given an extensive physical annually, and monkeys with special conditions are cared for regularly.
All monkeys are also kept in cages and given microchip trackers.
“We are harder to get into than Fort Knox or the NSA,” said Heather Wandell, director of community outreach for the sanctuary.
The volunteers at Frisky?s said they are unsure what will become of the monkeys if they are forced to get rid of them. In the worst-casescenario, they said, the monkeys would have to be euphonized.
“We are going to do everything possible to avoid that,” Stover-Catha said.
