By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Town Advisory Board (MTAB) approved a request from private resident, Howard Pulsipher, for a Use Permit to keep an exotic animal at a property on Lawson Drive and Barlow Avenue within Moapa. The request came before the board at a meeting held Tuesday, March 8.

Susan Pulsipher, the applicant’s daughter, explained that the family had owned a Capuchin monkey for the past three years. They had kept the small, four lb. animal as a family pet. During that time the family had been unaware that they needed a permit to keep the animal, Pulsipher said. The family was recently made aware that they needed a permit to keep the animal and so were going through the process of obtaining it, she said. This includes an appearance at the MTAB.

The animal is well cared for and has been neutered, Pulsipher said.

Board members agreed that issuing the permits was not a problem.

“One of the reasons that we live out here in the sticks is so that we can do unorthodox things like this without being bothered about it,” said Board member Don Davis. “I don’t see any problem with this at all.”

MTAB Chairwoman Ann Schreiber made a motion to approve the request and asked that the time frame for the permit be extended to ten years before another review is necessary.

The motion was accepted with a unanimous vote of the Board.