German Customs Officials are Through Monkeying Around With Justin Bieber

By Jon Wiederhorn

German customs officials are pointing their fingers at pop singer Justin Bieber and sternly declaring, "Young man, no more monkey business."

The officers have given Bieber until midnight Friday to decide whether he wishes to reclaim his pet capuchin monkey, Mally – which they seized on March 28 – or if he wants it to be turned over to a German zoo or animal park. Either way, they're planning to hit the pop star with a hefty fine.

Mally was taken from the singer because he was unable to supply customs with papers that proved the animal had been vaccinated after his plane arrived in Munich on his world tour.

The monkey was transferred to the city’s animal shelter and has resided there for nearly seven weeks, according to the Guardian. Shelter manager Karl Heinz Joachim said the animal is now 20 weeks old and in good health.

He added that the shelter has received emails from Bieber’s management stating that Bieber no longer wants Mally – however, German customs spokesman Thomas Meister told the Guardian that they are waiting to hear from Bieber directly.

"Our contact is the person that the monkey belongs to," Meister said. "We've had contact with lots of people, but none of them was an authorized representative."

At any rate, the pop star will be picking up the tab for expenses the shelter has incurred tending to Mally. Meister told the Guardian the cost of care, food and veterinary visits will cost the singer several thousand Euros.

The animal shelter has publicly criticized Bieber for owning a monkey that was so young, pointing out that a capuchin monkey should not be separated from its mother until it is a year old.

Bieber’s monkey business capped a list of shenanigans the singer engaged in during his 2013 world tour. In London he fainted backstage, shouted at paparazzi, wrote a comment in the visitor’s book of the Anne Frank House Museum that offended many, and narrowly escaped arrest when drugs were found on a tour bus he had used in Europe (he wasn’t present at the time, so they couldn’t be traced to him).

Other bizarre events happened that weren’t his fault: He was grabbed onstage by a fan in Dubai; and last weekend $330,000 was stolen from a safe in Johannesburg, South Africa at the stadium where Bieber was performing. Fortunately, the singer should still have enough money in his bank account to cover Mally’s shelter expenses.