Israel's Nature and Parks Authority rescued three additional vervet monkeys on Sunday, bringing the total to 35 monkeys since the "wave of captures" began last month, according to the agency.
One of the monkeys was captured in Lod, one in Rishon Lezion, and one in Nof HaGalil, the Nature and Parks Authority stated.
The Lod Municipal Hotline received an "unusual report" about a monkey spotted in a tall tree in the center of a residential neighborhood, according to the statement.
During a patrol, a municipal veterinary inspector located the monkey "roaming freely among the treetops between apartment buildings."
Tal Asif, the director of the city's municipal veterinary services, led a capture operation in coordination with the Nature and Parks Authority due to "the complexity and unique nature of the case."
"Keeping monkeys as private pets seriously harms their well-being. In many past cases, captured monkeys have suffered significant physical injuries," Asif was cited as saying in the statement.
"There's also a risk of disease transmission—some of which can be severe—from monkey to human. I urge anyone who sees or knows of a monkey or any other wild animal to report it to the authorities so that we can rescue them and ensure they have a better life," he added.
Rishon Lezion's monkey
The Nature and Parks Authority's hotline received a report from locals who saw a monkey near the Oranim Youth Village in Rishon Lezion.
Authorities were met at the site by a municipal patrol team and the Israel Police, who directed them to the tree where the monkey was located, the statement clarified.
The veterinarians said that the monkey was suffering from tail necrosis and was transferred to the Israeli Primate Sanctuary for medical treatment.
Nof HaGalil's monkey
Shortly before locating the monkey, officers had arrived at a private residence in Nof Hagalil on suspicion that a monkey was being kept unlawfully.
Upon entering the property, the police found the monkey in a storage room. They detained a 20-year-old resident on suspicion of "illegally keeping the monkey."
The individual is being investigated by the Nature and Parks Authority, while inspectors were called to the scene to retrieve the animal, according to the authority's statement.
The monkey was eventually handed over to the authorities and taken for further medical evaluation and care at the Israeli Primate Sanctuary.
Illegal and serious offense.
Israel Police and the Nature and Parks Authority reminded the public that the private possession of protected wildlife species, which includes vervet monkeys, is an "illegal and considered a serious offense."
"These animals have complex needs, especially social ones, that humans cannot meet," the statement added.
The Nature and Parks authority also urged any citizens who may have been exposed to wildlife without protection to get tested, due to the risk of zoonotic diseases such as tuberculosis and rabies, which could endanger human life.
On March 16, Israel Police found that monkeys and lion cubs were being illegally smuggled into Israel via drones from Egypt and Jordan.
Many of the 35 monkeys were found in southern Israel; however, on March 27, a vervet monkey was found chained to a dumpster in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood.