Nepal goes utilizationist

[Guest guest]

IPPL has been monitoring the activities of the Washington Primate Center,

Seattle, WA for many years. The center had close links to the Indonesian

dealer Darsono (deceased) and operates one of Indonesia's huge monkey

breeding islands. The Center's man in Nepal, Randall Kyes, was recently

defeated in his attempt to become Vice-president for Conservation of the

International Primatological Society.

 

From ENS News

 

Nepal Authorizes Wildlife Farming for Conservation

 

By Deepak Gajurel

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 18, 2004 (ENS) - Wildlife farming might sound like a

contradiction in terms, but it is the government of Nepal's new strategy for

conserving animal species. New avenues have been opened for farming,

breeding and research of high value wild species under the government's new

Wildlife Farming, Reproduction and Research Policy.

 

The government started providing licenses for wildlife farming immediately

after promulgating the policy. Since the parliament is dissolved and the

country is reeling under political uncertainty, the only option to establish

a law to this effect is by ordinance. After six months of issuing licenses,

the government is now working to write proper legislation.

 

" Since we do not have parliament, an Act for this purpose will be brought

through ordinance, " said Narayan Sharma of the Ministry of Forests and Soil

Conservation. " The ordinance is currently being given a final touch, " he

said.

 

The Impeyan pheasant, Nepal's national bird, is approved for farming. (Photo

courtesy Jacob Hadomi)

 

Meanwhile, to facilitate and encourage researchers and conservationists to

undertake wildlife farming, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife

Conservation (DNPWC) has already granted licenses for farming and research

of rhesus monkeys, snakes and vultures. The DNPWC is a government agency,

under the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, which looks after

protected areas and wild species of plants and animals.

The protected species that are permitted for farming under the new policy

include the gharial crocodile, Gavialis gangeticus; the black buck, Antilope

cervicapra; Nepal's national bird the Impeyan pheasant, Lophophorus

impejanus; the crimson horned pheasant, Tragopan satyra; and the cheer

pheasant, Catreus wallichii.

 

Other species on the list for wildlife farming permits include the barking

deer, spotted deer, sambar, rhesus monkey, hog deer, wild boar, snakes and

all bird species.

 

Under the new policy, the DNPWC would provide seed animals for farming and

breeding. The permission fee ranges from 5,000 to 40,000 Nepali rupees

(US$69 to $555) per animal depending on the species.

 

The government's decision on wildlife farming, reproduction and research

policy is in conformity with the Tenth National Plan, which mentions farming

high value wild animals and birds.

 

The black buck is a species approved for farming under the new policy.

(Photo courtesy FAO)

 

The Tenth Plan - a five year plan ending in April 2006 - specifically points

out the need to improve the livelihoods of women, the poor, and

disadvantaged groups by conserving biological diversity through farming of

high value wildlife, and promoting involvement of individuals, groups,

nongovernmental organizations and institutions in wildlife farming,

reproduction and research.

The policy sets criteria that the applicants for wildlife farming must meet

before obtaining licenses such as basic infrastructure, management and

technical qualifications and expertise.

 

Wildlife experts have welcomed the new initiative. " The wildlife farming and

research policy will help conserve wild animals. This will also promote

various types of researches for the benefit of human being, " says Dr. Sanat

Dhungel, a former DNPWC director general.

 

Another former director general of the department, Dr. Udaya Raj Sharma, has

a mixed reaction. " We should use our natural resources for the benefit of

our people. The wildlife farming policy is a positive initiative in terms of

conservation aspects, " Sharma says, but he cautions, " An effective

monitoring mechanism should be in place, otherwise this policy would promote

illegal trade in wildlife. "

 

Monitoring and evaluation are the key to success of the policy, which

stipulates that a regular and effective monitoring mechanism is essential to

ensure that there is no illegal activity under cover.

 

" The DNPWC will monitor the farmers and the animals every six months. " says

Surya Bahadur Pandey, who serves as an ecologist and management officer with

the agency.

 

" The policy represents sustainable use of natural resources, as many

countries are doing around the world, " says Dr. Randall Kyes, head of

International Programs in the Regional Primate Research Center at University

of Washington. The University of Washington is planning to collaborate with

Nepali experts in research on monkeys.

 

[Photo] A group of pig-tailed macaques living at the Regional Primate Research

Center at the University of Washington (Photo courtesy Regional Primate

Research Center)

 

On a research trip to Nepal, Dr. Kyes told ENS, " There should be a proper

and effective mechanism so that there is no negative impact on natural

populations. "

 

Primatologist Dr. Mukesh Chalise, who is president of the Nepal Biodiversity

Conservation Society and is a professor at Tribhuwan University, has

obtained a license for farming and conducting research on rhesus monkeys. He

has started working on plans to establish infrastructures for research on

this wild species.

 

" First, we are going to breed the monkeys in captivity, " said Chalise. " We

will start research on monkeys of first generation (F1 generation) at our

research facility. "

 

The research will be conducted with the monkeys bred in captivity. The

Wildlife Farming, Reproduction and Research Policy prohibits the use in any

type of research of any wild species provided by the government as seed

animals.

 

" This is a good initiative for biomedical research and any genetic

discoveries or findings can be claimed by Nepal. This will eventually

benefit Nepali people, " says Dr. Kyes.

 

There are others who find problems with the wildlife farming policy. " The

government is working under policy. We still do not have any legislation for

this, " says legal expert Dr. Rabi Sharma Aryal, who wrote his doctoral

thesis on implementation of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species in South Asia.

 

" Going ahead with just a policy in hand might make the whole endeavor in

vain. First we have to have proper legal framework, " said Aryal.

 

Though there is no controversy over snakes and vultures, licenses granted

for farming and research of rhesus monkey has drawn protests, some on the

ground of cruelty to the animals and others on religious grounds.

 

Animals rights activists are campaigning to stop research on monkeys. They

allege that under the cover of research and farming, Nepali monkeys will be

supplied to laboratories in the United States for biomedical research.

 

According to some activists, the United States requires over 14,000 monkeys

for research annually.

 

[Photo] Rhesus monkeys at a Kathmandu temple (Photo courtesy Rasmus Jansson)

 

A petition has been filed with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation

demanding a halt to providing monkeys for research. The petition, supported

by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Nepal; the

International Primate Protection League; and People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals, states that " Nepal will not deserve credit for

providing monkeys for biomedical research by maintaining outdated,

unreliable, and unethical methods for conducting studies. "

According to the campaigners, the policy on wildlife farming should not

facilitate breeding and export for biomedical research of monkeys, or any

other animal.

 

" This is just propaganda by certain vested interests. Our intention is not

to send our monkeys to death but to use them for human benefits, " contends

Dr. Chalise.

 

The government officials do not care about the campaigns. They do not see

anything serious in such campaigns. " We are still working on the proper

legal framework. In addition, the policy does not allow export or commercial

use of any wild species, " says conservation officer Surya Bahadur Pandey at

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

 

Dr. Dhungel goes further in agreement with the government move. " We should

allow farming and research on any wild species including one horn rhinos if

it benefits the people and the nation. Our natural resources are not for the

sake of protection. We should make sustainable use of them for the welfare

of human beings, " Dhungel argues.

 

The population of rhesus monkeys in Nepal is abundant, according to Dr.

Chalise. They are not on the government's protected list but are found in

jungles and also in temple areas, including those in Kathmandu.

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

International Primate Protection League

PO Box 766

Summerville, SC 29484, USA

Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org

 

" He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt.

He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord

would suffice. "

--Albert Einstein