Court denies Canadian woman's custody of monkey

A judge today denied a Canadian woman's bid to get back her pet monkey from authorities who seized it after finding the stylishly-attired animal wandering in a car park.
Toronto area resident Yasmin Nakhuda had gone to court to try to force a sanctuary that took in the animal -- which she described as her child -- to return it.
But Ontario Superior Court Judge Mary Vallee ruled against her.
"The monkey is not a child," Vallee said in a 13-page decision.
"The monkey is a wild animal... (and) Ms. Nakhuda lost ownership of the monkey when she lost possession."

The Japanese snow macaque monkey named Darwin became an instant Internet celebrity last December when Nakhuda took the animal shopping at Ikea.
While she was inside the store, Darwin escaped his crate inside her locked car and was spotted strolling around the furniture store's parking lot, wearing a sheepskin coat.