Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has found an innovative way to fight its economic situation. The South Asian nation is apparently planning to export 1,00,000 endangered monkeys to China. Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, recently announced that the government is considering a proposal to send 1,00,000 toque macaque monkeys to China to place in 1,000 of its zoos.
Toque macaque monkeys are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. The monkeys are endemic to Sri Lanka and conservationists in the country are not happy about the news.
Amaraweera has asked officials to think about China's proposal and procure the monkeys to be sent to China where they will be exhibited at over 1,000 Chinese zoos. The country has over three million toque macaques, Amaraweera says.
The monkeys have apparently been damaging crops in the country and all efforts to control their population have failed. This is the reason Amaraweera think China's proposal should be thought about.
According to the Ada Derana news portal, discussions have been held about sending the monkeys to China under the first phase of the programme. Officials from the Agriculture Minister, the Department of National Zoological Gardens, and the Department of Wildlife Conservation were also part of the discussion.
Amaraweera also said that since Sri Lanka does not have any legal provision for the export of live animals, the legal aspects of the deal will need to be looked into. The officials also talked about setting up a committee to study the legal procedures for the programme.
Sri Lanka, this year, removed several species from its protected list, including all three of its monkey species, peacocks, grizzled giant squirrel, porcupines and wild boars. This means that farmers can now kill these animals.
China is one of Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral lenders and the nation will try to fulfil the request. Some experts believe that sending monkeys to China will have damaging effects on the ecosystem.
(With inputs from agencies)
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