Darwin the IKEA Monkey

Darwin the IKEA Monkey

On December 9, 2012, IKEA shoppers were surprised to find a monkey dressed up with a diaper, wandering around. When the Animal control took over, Yasmin Nakhuda claimed that the monkey (Darwin) was hers. The government would not let Nakhuda keep her monkey because it’s against the law to own a monkey. Nakhuda would do anything to get her monkey back.

Some people think that Nakhuda should be able to keep Darwin. If taking the monkey to an animal shelter is supposed to help him, then it’s not working. Darwin was screaming and crying when he was being taken away. Why? That’s because Darwin has already bonded with his owner, Nakhuda. Now, Darwin is probably locked away in a foreign place, all lonely. Instead of helping him, they ruined the monkey’s life. Imagine being a monkey that lived with a human for years. Suddenly, a cage drops down and darkness fills the air. How would it feel to be separated from a loved one? However, there is a law. “No Non-Human Primates (Such as Gorillas and Monkeys)” The law also states “No Canids, except the domestic dog” If a domestic dog is so much different than a normal/wild dog, then a domestic money is no monkey. What does the word ‘domestic’ mean?

Merriam-Webster: any of various animals (as the horse or sheep) domesticated so as to live and breed in a tame condition.

Cambridge Dictionary: an animal that is not wild and kept as a pet or to produce food.

The Free Dictionary: any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment.

Longman: 5. A domestic animal lives on a farm or in someone's home.

In most of those dictionaries, the word ‘tamed’, ‘not wild’, and ‘home’ pops out a lot. Darwin is a tamed animal and made fit for humans. He doesn’t attack and lives with Nakhuda peacefully. Yasmin Nakhuda is like his mother and a child should not be separated from its mother.

However, others are against Yasmin, and think that she shouldn’t keep Darwin. It is illegal to do so, making Nakhuda against the law. The law states that in order to own a monkey, there must be a license (as a vet, animal control, etc.) Yasmin Nakhuda does not have a license of any sort. Also, scientists said that monkeys are high social animals, and they need to stay with their kind. Nakhuda was separating the poor monkey from his own kind. In order for Nakhuda to keep Darwin, the government will have to change the law completely. If that happens, everyone would go buying monkeys, pandas, gorillas, etc, that will eventually create disorder in communities. Parks would turn into zoos and monkeys will replace dogs. Then, they will show up in shelters—hundreds of them being put to sleep each day. There will be backyard breeders breeding monkeys, until monkeys aren’t monkeys anymore. All this comes from one act: letting Nakhuda keep her monkey.

Yasmin Nakhuda should be able to keep Darwin. He is domesticated and he probably misses his owner a lot. Maybe that’s why animals—like monkeys—have an instinct to fear humans. Humans are so unpredictable and sudden, how can animals trust humans? Animals have a mind and soul. Letting Nakhuda keep Darwin is not just Nakhuda’s benefit, but also Darwin’s. If monkeys need to be with their kind, Darwin thinks that Nakhuda is his kind. Right now, he is being tormented silently, without anyone to reassure him. Is this what shelters do? Lock poor animals away in a cage and then keep them away from freedom? No. Things need to change. They need to change in a good way, where everyone’s happy. If nothing happens, the government is stressed, Nakhuda is heart-broken, and Darwin must be terrified! Nakhuda is leaving Canada, to a place where she’s permitted to own a monkey. If the government intends to make everyone in Canada leave to own a monkey, then leave everything as it is. Nakhuda should get a license to keep Darwin, and the whole case would be dropped.