Johannesburg - A Bloemfontein man received a criminal record on Friday for a "backyard experiment" on a pregnant monkey, the NSPCA said.
The National Council of SPCAs spokesperson Este Kotze said: "Gert Jordaan was sentenced to a fine of R10 000 or six months imprisonment suspended for five years in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court."
He had earlier admitted guilt to charges laid against him in terms of the Animals Protection Act.
The NSPCA in November 2008 charged Jordaan for his "merciless treatment" of a heavily pregnant vervet monkey. He had severed her spinal cord to paralyse her for a "backyard experiment.
"She had been captured from the wild... in the opinion of the NSPCA because she had been pregnant and therefore 'of use' for the pitiless treatment."
She said the monkey's infant was removed by Caesarean section on October 31. The procedure to sever her spinal cord had been performed the same day.
This paralysed the monkey from the waist down and made her incontinent. Her cage was "cleaned" with a hosepipe.
Kotze said Jordaan had apparently doing "stem cell research" to help people walk again after a friend of his had been paralysed in an accident.
Jordaan allegedly submitted a research application to the University of the Free State, but its animal ethics committee rejected it. He was told to rewrite and resubmit it. He was not prepared to do so and said he would continue the research on his own, Kotze said.
"A few months later Free State nature conservation contacted us and said they have information about a person who was keeping a monkey in his backyard and experimental procedures were done on it."
The NSPCA expressed its frustration about cases taking years to come before the courts. The organisation called for specialised courts for animal-related issues.
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