During operational activity on Wednesday an additional monkey was found held in a homemade cage in an open area in a Bedouin settlement.

The operation, led by detectives from the Segev Shalom police station in cooperation with the Border Police, found the monkey near Golda Park.

Police forces rescued the monkey and transferred him to supervisors from the Nature and Parks Authority, who brought the monkey to a protected shelter for medical treatment and comprehensive tests.

Thus far, police and Nature and Parks Authority forces have rescued 10 monkeys and two lion cubs in their enforcement efforts. In total, 16 monkeys and four lions were rescued from the area. Some of the lions were in complex medical condition and are receiving professional treatment.

Israel Police and the Nature and Parks Authority clarified that possession of protected wild animals such as monkeys and lions is a serious crime which harms the animals due to their unique needs, especially from a social and health perspective, which they cannot receive in a private setting.

The Nature and Parks Authority also called on the public to examine their medical states if they were close to wild animals in unprotected situations, due to concerns of infection with zoonotic illnesses such as tuberculosis and rabies, which can be life-threatening.