A smuggled baby chimpanzee suffering from malnutrition has been discovered at a house in Sharjah after her owner advertised her for sale. Chimpy, a one-year-old female, has been living in a cage in the back yard of a villa for eight months ever since an Indian family purchased her illegally from a local animal dealer.

Her owner, said he knew Chimpy had been smuggled into the UAE, and could not provide a Convention in International Trade of Endangered Species certificate (CITES).

He said he had been looking for a baby chimpanzee for the past 15 years but said health problems were forcing him to sell Chimpy. He then offered her for sale to our undercover reporter for Dh16,000.

"I've always been fascinated by chimps, and was planning to purchase a male to keep Chimpy company but, unfortunately, I've suffered heart problems and am now unable to look after her. "I placed the advert in the papers, in the hope that someone with other chimpanzees would come forward and buy her, but I am not willing to pass her on to a zoo."

He said a local vet had advised him to feed Chimpy on a mixture of vegetables and glucose and water. "We've always fed her on this, never milk, and the vet says her weight and health is fine," he said. He did not identify the vet involved.

When contacted later and informed that Gulf News would be running a story, Chimpy's owner became angry and said: "You can print what you like." He then hung up. Sharjah Municipality have been made aware of Chimpy's plight and are investigating.

Dr Reza Khan, Head of the Zoo section at Dubai Municipality, said Chimpy would be suffering badly as the result of her poor diet. "All babies need milk and protein, and baby chimps are suckled by their mothers for a whole year. The best thing for orphaned chimps is actually cow's milk because human baby formula contains too many chemicals.

"I dread to think what the diet has done to her health. It really is disastrous to feed a baby on such food. "The fact that they are trying to sell it in the paper is totally illegal and I'm very upset to hear this is happening," he added.

Speaking to Gulf News from London, Stephen Brend, the UK's representative for the International Primate Protection League, described the horrors of the chimpanzee trade, saying: "You can guarantee that for every one chimpanzee that appears on the pet market, another 10 will have perished along the way. That's how bad the trade is.

"This is a terrible practice because baby chimps stay with their mothers until they are six years old, and continue suckling from her for a whole year after birth. The mother has to be killed when her baby is taken from her because there is no other way in which she will give it up.

"Other members of the troop are also often killed because they try to prevent the baby from being taken." He said young chimps also suffer from appalling treatment when they are smuggled into countries, and the majority die as a result.

"I am very sad to learn this is happening in the UAE." He said the trade was also bad for people who buy the animals, thinking they will make good pets.

"A chimpanzee is the classic example of the cute, cuddly baby that grows into a dangerous monster. Chimps are extremely strong, and when they mature, they have been known to injure humans. To try and keep one as a pet is completely irresponsible.

"They also carry illnesses transferable to humans, which include general infections found in their faeces and urine, and other possibly more sinister viral diseases."