Nuisance monkeys face sterilisation in India

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3212124.stm

 

Nuisance monkeys face sterilisation

 

By Baldev Chauhan

BBC correspondent in Simla

 

Loitering in groups, pestering passers-by, stealing food - India's urban

monkeys have become a menace to society.

 

Simian delinquency is booming, fuelled by a steady rise in the monkey

population. But in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the humans

have had enough - and, perhaps literally, the knives are out.

 

Authorities in the region have decided it is high time the nuisance

monkeys are sterilised. They have applied to the Environment and Forests

Ministry in Delhi for permission to proceed with a sterilisation

programme.

 

A senior wildlife official told the BBC the state's female monkeys can

rest easy - male monkeys will be the sole targets of the initiative.

According to the official, tests have shown sterilisation is far more

effective in male primates than it is in females.

 

If given the go-ahead, each of the state's sterilised monkeys would have

a micro-chip implanted in it, to make sure the same animal was not

operated on twice. The wildlife official said the cost of sterilising

each monkey would be about 1,750 rupees, or $35.

 

That's money well spent, say residents in the hill resort of Simla,

which has had serious monkey problems of its own.

 

One of them told the BBC this was the time for decisive action, as the

state's monkey population was on course to outnumber its humans.

 

Exact figures for the number of monkeys in India are not available, but

they are to be found almost everywhere in the country. The commonest

breed is the Rhesus Macaque, a type of brown monkey that lives to the

age of around 17.

 

Though denied the protection afforded to the sacred cow, monkeys

nonetheless have an easy life in India. Temples are often dedicated to

them, in memory of the Hindu god, Hanuman, himself part-monkey.

 

The presence of pilgrims and devotees at these temples provides the

monkeys with a ready source of food - and to judge by their antics,

entertainment.

 

 

 

--

Dave Neale

Animals Asia Foundation

 

Find out more about the historic China Bear Rescue by visiting the

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