Bob was found by a mechanic who was working on a circus van in Stradbally, Co Laois. Inside, Bob was chained by the neck in a metal cage surrounded by filth with no natural light.

Now, the owner and sole fulltime worker at the Monkey Sanctuary, Willie Heffernan, is nursing Bob back to health.

When he first arrived, he didn't know how to talk to the other monkeys, having never communicated with any of his species since he was snatched from his mother as a baby.

But now, with the help of 37-yearold monkey Harry and his Mangabey companion Misha . . . who has a penchant for toy dolls . . . Bob is beginning to integrate. His face is still pale, and the scars around his neck from a choke-chain that had never been removed are still visible.

But he's getting there.

Willie Heffernan, a pensioner, has almost single-handedly built this sanctuary, digging out a lake and building 12 individual islands where the monkeys reside. Bob's own island has just been completed.

The islands are accessible only by boat, and Heffernan has constructed the environment so that the monkeys . . . most of whom were rescued from laboratories in the UK . . . feel as free as possible.

In the seven years the sanctuary has been open, there have been no moves to legislate on the issues of exotic animals in Ireland. Unlike in England, there is no registration process for exotic animals here.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, ISPCA inspector Conor Dowling criticised pet shops and circuses in the country. "A lot of people who are selling them [exotic animals] don't really know what they're doing or have any expertise."

In recent years, Dowling has come across several instances of wild animals being kept in inappropriate conditions in Ireland, "We found a jaguar . . . the animal, not the car . . . in a garage in Dublin, and around the same time, the ISPCA also dealt with a guy who had lions, tigers and a bear in Limerick stored in a modified truck. There was a woman in Leitrim with a couple of bears and a guy in the North had a gorilla."

Most of these animals come from circuses or small zoos abroad, and although you need documentation to import animals, many are smuggled illegally and once they are in Ireland, owners are free to sell them on. Irish law requires an owner to hold a licence for a dog, but not for a lion, tiger or any other exotic animal.

Heffernan relies on volunteers and small donations to keep his sanctuary running. At feeding time, he rowed between each island, calling out to individual monkeys, who greeted him with screeches.

He threw them grapes (donated by Fyffes) and hardboiled eggs (prepared daily by a neighbour in Kilcoole). The monkeys also enjoy fruit and nuts, but their favourite food is Petit Filous yogurts. "They're constantly communicating, " Willie said as he landed on an island and a monkey, Chiccio, jumped on his shoulder.

"They're pretty vocal. . . but no matter how much they know you, they'll back up their own kind.

Which is fair enough, " he added.

At night, the monkeys retire to their huts on each island, equipped with heating and radios. "They like Lyric FM, " he explained.

Heffernan refuses to open the sanctuary to the public. "I want them to live like monkeys, not in a zoo. They're at peace now you see, they have it all sussed."

The sanctuary receives no government funding, but you can adopt a monkey for 9 a year by visiting their website.