Request for solution to Shoot-to-kill order against monkeys?

[Guest guest]

Monkey menace is a serious problem here in Malaysia because of loss of

habitat. I will be grateful for any comments/views on the best possible way to

solve the problem without killing the monkeys. Translocation is another option

but given the rapid development in almost all parts of the country, there is

going to be human-wildlife conflict. What can be done to control the monkey

menace as more and more come out in the open to forage for food?

 

Gratefully yours!

 

MM Focus: Shoot-to-kill order against monkeys? Malay Mail 10th

May 2002

By Rita Jong mmnews

 

MONKEY business is serious business to the Shah Alam Wildlife Department.

 

The next time its enforcement officers act on a complaint against them,

chances are the monkeys will end up dead.

 

Following a complaint, The Malay Mail learnt that monkeys are no longer

tranquilised. Instead, they are just killed most of the time.

 

A resident, M. Ragu, of Taman Seri Muda in Shah Alam, said he had called the

department on April 26 to act on a monkey.

 

However, he was stunned when the officers shot dead the animal. " Instead of

using tranquilisers, the officers came equipped with guns to take the monkey

down at Taman Seri Muda's third basketball field.

 

" The monkey might have been annoying and even stole food from our homes, but

it didn't deserve to die. " Ragu said his intention in calling the department

was to catch the monkey and release it in the wild.

 

When The Malay Mail contacted the department to clarify the matter, its

deputy director Norizan Ahmad said they were allowed to shoot and kill the

monkey if it threatened residents in the area.

 

And this, he said, was one of the ways to control the monkey population. " We

usually opt to use traps as our first choice but have found that very

difficult.

 

" Those shot would usually be the more dominant or bigger ones, as we cannot

use tranquilisers on monkeys in the wild. Generally, tranquilisers are slower

than guns. " Using tranquilisers, he said, also cost a lot more.

 

" If we use tranquilisers, it would cost about RM200 per shot. That still does

not guarantee that we would be able to catch them.

 

" We use the 12-ball cartridge (150 pellets) for guns. Hence, the monkeys, in

most cases, die. " However, in some cases where the monkeys survive, they will

be treated and sent to the Malacca Zoo until they recover fully.

 

Norizan urged residents to call the department if there were monkeys in

traps.

 

" Instead, some let the monkeys go free, " he said. With over 358 cases

received last year in Shah Alam, Norizan said they did not shoot all of them,

adding that some are released in the Gading Forest Reserve.