Police Seize Monkeys, Dogs From Lansing Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Sheriff's Police have seized two Capuchin monkeys and five dogs from a home in Lansing.
Rachel Birkenfeld, 46, of the 18600 block of Bernadine in Lansing, has been charged with two counts of possession of a dangerous animal and four counts of neglect of owner's duties.
Investigators received a tip about the animals from a social worker doing a house check on an elderly woman.
Inside the woman's home, on the 3100 block of 192nd Street in Lansing, were two Capuchin monkeys and five dogs living in unsanitary and neglectful conditions.
A female, undernourished monkey was living in a small wire dog cage while a male monkey was in a large metal cage for birds.
The cages were covered in excrement and cigarette butts.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser reports
Podcast
The dogs were also being kept in small filthy cages. None of the animals had food or water.
Birkenfeld admitted ownership of all the animals, and was arrested.
Birkenfeld told officers she kept the monkeys and dogs at her mother's nearby home because there was more space. Illinois requires a special permits to own primates because they can attack and spread diseases.
