Justin Bieber has less than 12 hours to save his monkey

The abandoned capuchin monkey will become German property unless the singer claims him

Published May 17, 2013 3:45PM (EDT)

Justin Bieber, a human monkey, has until midnight to save his pet monkey Mally, who has had the misfortunate of becoming a metaphor for the teenage singer's sanity. The 20-week-old capuchin was quarantined in Germany after the singer failed to produce paperwork necessary for Mally's international air travel.

It does not seem that Bieber, who has had seven weeks to claim the infant monkey, is likely to do so. Emails from his management to the animal shelter "indicated the singer doesn't want the monkey anymore," reports the AP. "Our contact is the person that the monkey belongs to," said customs office spokesman Thomas Meister. "We've had contact with lots of people, but none of them was an authorized representative."

"If no further documents arrive, then the seizure order comes into effect, and the animal becomes the property of the German state," said Meister.

Regardless of whether he reclaims Mally or not, Bieber also owes thousands of dollars in shelter costs used to care for the capuchin."You can bet we are going to ask for that money back," said Meister.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

MORE FROM Prachi Gupta


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Animal Abuse Animal Rights Capuchin Monkey Germany Justin Bieber Pop Music