Posted on: Saturday, January 22, 2005

Nightclub monkeys get a home in Hilo

Advertiser Staff

Three squirrel monkeys that had been on display behind the bar at the Blue Tropix Restaurant and Nightclub on Kapi'olani Boulevard have been voluntarily turned over to the state and shipped to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo.

The monkeys, on display in a 30-foot-long, 5-foot-wide glass case with branches inside, have been a source of controversy since Blue Tropix opened in 2001. Animal-rights activists believe that monkeys have no place near a bar, but the club owner says the monkeys were treated well. A state inspection in September, which included a veterinarian and representatives from the Humane Society, found that the monkeys were in good health.

Squirrel monkeys are usually found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. The monkeys typically grow to between 9 and 14 inches tall. Activists say the monkeys may be frightened by music, noise and stares from people in a nightclub.

Club owner Darren Tsuchiya failed to report the birth of a monkey at Blue Tropix in 2001. The club owner paid a $200 fine and forfeited a $1,000 bond in October after the state discovered he had sold the monkey in 2002 to a person without a permit. That person was cited for possession of a restricted animal without a permit, and the monkey has been moved to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo.

Under Hawai'i law, primates, including monkeys, are allowed only for import and possession

in the state under a permit with specific conditions set by the state Department of Agriculture and approved by the Board of Agriculture. Violations of permit conditions or bond conditions can result in citation or permit cancellation and, in certain circumstances, in seizure of the animal and bond forfeiture.

Tsuchiya also let his USDA exhibitor's license expire in 2002, so the state increased his bond requirement for the remaining three monkeys from $1,000 to $2,000 for each monkey.

The $6,000 bond will be returned to him.