Woman gets lifetime pet ban after flushing toilet on marmoset and offering animal cocaine

Vet said animal was ‘suffering unnecessarily’ due to treatment, RSPCA says

A woman has received a life ban on keeping animals after abusing a pet monkey, who was offered cocaine and seen in a flushing toilet.

The RSPCA said the Welsh owner has received a suspended prison sentence over the the marmoset’s abuse – which was captured on video.

Vicki Holland from Newport pleaded guilty to three Animal Welfare Act offences on 18 November before her sentencing on Friday, the charity said.

Footage shows the marmoset down the toilet, while a woman shouts for it to get out, saying she needs to use it. “Idiot,” she shouts at the monkey.

The toilet is then flushed while the marmoset is still in the basin.

Another video shows a woman approaching the monkey and saying: “Want some coke? Lick my fingers.”

In another clip, the marmoset is offered porridge, with the woman behind the camera saying: “Feel it, it’s too hot.”

The RSPCA said Gwent Police alerted them to the marmoset’s abuse after finding videos on Holland’s phone.

“I was immediately and gravely concerned about the welfare of this marmoset when I saw these disturbing videos,” RSPCA inspector and exotics officer Sophie Daniels said.

“Videos from the defendant’s phone showed Holland offering the marmoset cocaine, while another showed the clearly terrified marmoset down a toilet bowl.

“Holland was shouting, swearing, laughing and at one point in the clip, the toilet is flushed, showing the petrified animal struggling to cling onto the side of the bowl.”

She added: “An independent vet soon confirmed that the marmoset was suffering unnecessarily as a result of the way she had been treated.”

Newport Magistrates’ Court banned 38-year-old Holland from keeping all animals for life and gave her a 12-week jail term suspended for 12 months, the RSPCA said.

The marmoset is now being kept at Monkey World, a rescue centre in Dorset.