Overview
- A female common marmoset was found concealed in a small metal cage inside a chequered laundry bag on a 302 bus in Kensal Rise after the driver moved the bag last Friday.
- Metroline staff took the distressed animal to their depot, the RSPCA were contacted, and a specialist exotics vet gave her a clean bill of health before she was rehomed at a primate sanctuary and nicknamed 'Oyster'.
- The RSPCA has opened a criminal welfare investigation, is reviewing CCTV and bus ticket‑scan logs to trace who boarded with the bag, and has an appeal line for public tips on 0300 123 8018.
- Animal charity Peta has offered a reward of up to £3,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the abandonment case.
- Campaigners warn April’s new licensing rules for privately kept primates in England may be prompting some owners to dump animals, and rescuers note thousands of primates are kept as pets while licence uptake appears low; abandoning an animal is a criminal offence.