AS do-gooder neigbours start a fund help Mary Stanton keep her beloved capuchin monkey, Joe, imprisoned in a terrace house for the rest of his life, no one's speaking up for the poor beast.

Zoos are bad enough, but at least there are trees to climb, a meticulously balanced diet, specialist veterinary attention, fresh air and other monkeys to play with.

Contrast that with Joe's plight. Shut in a cage in a tiny house all day, every day. Never venturing out. For 13 years.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has refused to grant a dangerous wild animals licence and Joe's 'mum' says she'll give up everything to fight tooth and nail to keep her pet.

Obviously the council has a right to worry about the peeved pet wreaking havoc and worse if it ever does escape.

On the other side of the coin there's Joe's welfare.

Surely he'd be happier spending his twilight years in the Monkey World Sanctuary in Dorset, with room to stretch his legs and behave like a real monkey -- as council officials suggested.

Mrs Stanton claims she loves poor old Joe.

She plainly doesn't love him enough to let him go.