Serbia is trying to account for around 600 monkeys thought to be missing from a consignment imported from Africa, the daily Balkan reported.

According to the Serbian Statistics Bureau, the monkeys were imported from Tanzania two years ago and paid for by the kilo. The shipment weighed two tons, which works out at about 1 000 monkeys weighing two kilos each, the paper said. The national vaccine producer Torlak Institute bought 400 for polio vaccine testing, but the fate of the others is unclear.

Belgrade Zoo director Vuk Bojovic said he had not bought a single monkey in 20 years. The Serbian Chamber of Commerce said only Torlak would buy monkeys for laboratory use, and while some people took them as pets, it was unlikely 600 were sold to individuals. The Customs could not immediately supply figures.