A woman who offered her pet monkey cocaine before trying to flush the animal down the toilet has avoided jail. Vicki Holland pleaded guilty to abusing her pet marmoset, which was only discovered and rescued after police in Gwent raided her property in Newport, south Wales. The incidents of abuse were videotaped and kept on Holland’s phone, The Guardian reports.
WARNING: Clip contains very distressing content. Watch at your own risk.
- Holland’s acts were callous and cruel. In one video, Holland is seen holding cocaine towards the monkey, which cowered in the corner away from her. Holland can be heard saying: “Want some coke… lick my fingers.” In another clip, she tried to flush the animal down the toilet as it clung to the rim while she said “I need the toilet” and “shall I flush it?”
- In total, 22 “very disturbing” videos were found on Holland’s phone. All of those videos involved the pet marmoset, which was fed “inappropriate food” and subject to verbal and physical abuse.
- Somehow, Holland avoided a jail sentence. While she was banned from keeping animals for life after pleading guilty to three Animal Welfare Act offenses, she was given a 12-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months, meaning she won’t spend a day behind bars.
- That poor marmoset should never have been with her. Prosecutor Aled Watkins pointed out that marmosets have “a very particular set of needs” but that the animal’s cage was “devoid of decor needed for environmental enrichment.” While defense attorney Scott Bowen admitted that the primate had experienced “distress,” he insisted there was “no long-term damage” and pointed out that the RSPCA had taken custody of the animal.
- As you can imagine, this isn’t Holland’s first court appearance. She was previously in court back in May 2021 for hiding a cocaine haul inside Kinder chocolate eggs. At the time, she was made to pay over £4,000 after she and her partner, 43-year-old Russell Cox, admitted possession with intent to supply. She was jailed for 20 months, suspended for two years, again spending not a day in prison.