CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday refused to grant the custody of a paralysed infant monkey, which was attacked by street dogs, to a veterinarian who had treated it, opining that the creature is the property of the government and that the veterinarian cannot claim exclusive ownership of it.

Earlier, the High Court had allowed the Coimbatore-based vet V Vallaiappan to meet the baby monkey named Mudalali, which was paralysed below the waist after being bitten by a rabies-infected stray dog. The monkey, which he saved from death and looked after for 10 months, is now at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur.

On November 10, DT Next reported that the vet visited the Vandalur Zoo on that day following permission from the High Court. But officials at the Vandalur zoo didn't release the infant simian from the cage even as it was all excited about seeing and hearing Vallaiappan. A confidential zoo insider told this newspaper that the doctor was seen emotional and dejected after the zoo staff refused his plea to touch and examine the animal.