The state Department of Environmental Conservation investigated and charged a Buffalo individual, who illegally possessed — and attempted to sell — a marmoset earlier this month.
The DEC's Division of Law Enforcement Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigators began its investigation Oct. 8 after numerous reports of someone in the City of Buffalo offering a marmoset for sale. After verifying that the subject did not have the proper permits to possess the tree-dwelling monkey, an undercover officer attempted and agreed to a purchase for $7,000.
The unnamed individual was charged with illegal commercialization of wildlife, a felony, while the marmoset, also unnamed, was transferred to a licensed primate sanctuary.