As SalfordOnline.com trawled through the local newspapers from Salford and Eccles from 50 years ago we have to admit that we were delighted to see the headline: “Magician fined for neglecting monkeys in Salford”.
The story of the performing monkeys – and please feel free to insert your own jokes about brass monkeys and balls as you see you fit – came about as a result of a police search in Salford.
Local officers received a call from a member of the public who complained about strange, guttural noises coming from a parked van on Camp Street in Broughton.
PC Clark and PC Chapman approached the van at 7.30pm on what was described as “a bitterly cold night with snow lying on the ground”.
Gingerly, they opened the rear door of the van and found a small mongrel dog, shivering with cold and barking loudly.
Further noises could be heard coming from inside the van.
This proved to be an Alsatian bitch tied to a metal cage by a piece of plastic wire.
To their amazement they found that the metal cage contained two tiny rhesus monkeys, in an unkempt and poor condition with no sign of food, water or bedding.
Inspector Donegan of the RSCPA was called in to investigate and he stated that the monkeys were undernourished, had matted coats and were in in poor health.
He took them to the RSPCA on Eccles New Road where their health began to improve once they had been fed and warmed up.
The Alsatian was described as being very thin and half the weight it should have been.
The police soon tracked down the owners of these unfortunate pets.
They were Roy Martin Rama, a magician and stage performer, and his wife Linda Rama who lived on Camp Street, Broughton.
Mrs Rama was at home but denied neglecting the animals, saying that they hadn’t got like that in three days, adding that she had fed them every day.
She advised the officers to see her husband, who was away on business in Rhyl, as they were his.
Mr Rama made an appearance at the Crescent Police Station several days later and explained that the nature of his job entailed him working away a lot.
He could not always take the monkeys with him and left them in his wife’s care.
Mr and Mrs Rama were charged with animal neglect and appeared at Salford Magistrates Court the following week when the full details were told to a bemused Magistrate.
Mr Rama told the court that he had owned the older monkey – called Jeannie – for 15 years, and the younger monkey – called Sue – for the last three years.
The act consisted of them walking a tightrope, riding bicycles, doing back flips and jumping through hoops.
Mr Rama added that these were all he added that demanded both mental and physical strength and therefore he would be foolish to neglect “his livelihood”.
As for the night in question when he was away in Rhyl he stated that the night had unexpectedly turned very cold, but if he had been there he would have taken them indoors for warmth and shelter.
However his wife was afraid of them and in any case they were born in England and had always spent the winter in the van.
We learned a little more about the monkeys when Mr Rama explained that they must be kept in a cage because if they escaped they could cause a lot of damage to property and may even bite unsuspecting members of the public.
They were fed on cereals, vegetables and fruit but never meat, he hastened to add.
Oddly enough, Mr Rama told the court that 15-year-old Jeannie would be 70 in human terms but she didn’t look as smart as the youngster Sue!
As for the Alsatian he said that it was not his but belonged to a girl assistant who had walked out of the job without notice the previous week.
Mrs Rama then took the stand and said that she always fed the animals properly and regularly.
She added that no drinking water could be left for them as Jeannie and Sue always turned the bowls over on their heads when they had finished!
For her parting shot she stated that for her husband to neglect his monkeys would be “as stupid as a lawyer to burn all his law books”.
The RSPCA were adamant that the animals had been neglected, had not been fed in several days and were in a poor condition.
The Magistrate, no doubt as confused as the rest of the court, fined Roy Martin Rama £15, plus £15 and four shillings court costs for failing to provide adequate care and attention to the animals.
Mrs Rama was acquitted on all charges and left the court with her character unblemished.
Main image (composite): © Columbia Pictures/Sandia/Earthshots.org
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