DEVOTED pet owner Mary Stanton, 73, has vowed to have her beloved Joe the capuchin monkey put down rather than lose him, saying: "He will die anyway if he is taken away".

Mrs Stanton, pictured outside court after the verdict, of Harrison Street, Blackburn, broke down in tears after she lost her appeal against Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's refusal to grant a licence for her to keep the pet she has cared for for 13 years.

Outside Blackburn Magistrates Court she said: "Joe means everything to me and it breaks my heart to think he will be going away. I would rather have him put down."

Joe's fate now hangs in the balance -- it is likely scenario that he will be seized by the council and taken to live at the ape sanctuary, Monkey World, in Dorset.

The appeal was the last throw of the dice for Mrs Stanton, who has already had to sell two of her pet Macaws to help pay the £3,000 legal costs of the case.

Earlier the court heard from Monkey World's scientific director, Dr Alison Cronin, who described conditions at Mrs Stanton's home as "chronic".

She said the environment in which Joe was living was totally unsuitable for such an animal, and that he also needed a special diet, the companionship of other capuchin monkeys and room to exercise.

Mrs Stanton told the court she fed Joe on a diet of dog food, jam sandwiches and boiled eggs.

Dr Cronin added: "The capuchin monkey's entire existence revolves around being part of an extended family.

"Its overriding occupation is being together and living as a troupe of monkeys." She said at 13 Joe was in the prime of life and could be expected to start showing signs of aggression.

She added: "Joe is suffering chronic physical and mental abuse at the moment because of the circumstances in which he is being kept.

"He is not provided with any ability to show natural behaviour and that is wrong."

The court heard that senior environmental health officers had inspected Mrs Stanton's home -- where she lives with her husband, John, 76, three macaws, three Amazon birds, two cockatoos and two dogs -- three times before advising her that any new licence application would be turned down.

Colin Clark, senior environmental health officer with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "The monkey was provided with only minimum stimulation. An old tyre and a stick are not stimulation for a capuchin monkey.

"It was not only the welfare of the monkey that gave me cause for concern, but public safety. I could not have considered advising the council to give Mrs Stanton a licence."

On all three occasions Mr Clark visited Mrs Stanton he found the monkey out of its cage and able to escape on to the street.

The court heard the fact that it had not attacked anyone in its 13 years was a "total fluke".

Mr Clark added: "Without a shadow of a doubt, Mrs Stanton was not complying with my requests to keep the monkey in its cage. "Either she did not appreciate that the monkey is capable of inflicting serious injury, or she is being reckless. This is an animal designed to fight for its life in the jungles of Colombia."

Mr Ian Hughes, for the council, said it was clear from the evidence that there were concerns about Joe's welfare and the safety of the public.

He said although it was obvious Mrs Stanton loved the monkey she did not appreciate that he was a wild animal who could be dangerous in contact with people.

He added: "The environment this monkey needs is one of companionship with other monkeys.

"At the moment he is regarded more as a pet than a wild animal and this is wrong."

Mr Giles Cannock, on behalf of Mrs Stanton, said his client had a great appreciation of what was good for Joe because she had cared for him for 13 years.

He said she was "an eminently suitable person" to be allowed to keep a monkey.

Magistrates, after an hour-and-a-half's deliberation, disagreed, and said it was in Joe's best interest that the licence be turned down and that he should go to Monkey World to be with his own species.