- Sri Lanka halts decision to export monkeys to China
- No action will be taken to export monkeys to China
- Export of monkeys will help Sri Lankan farmers protect their crops
Sri Lanka has put a hold on the decision to export one lakh macaque monkeys to China. Sri Lanka’s Attorney General appealed the decision to the court as the matter reached the court amid ongoing protests by environmental-friendly organizations. He said he had received instructions from the Department of Wildlife and Conservation that he would not take steps to export monkeys to China. In fact the petitioners sought the intervention of the Appellate Court to issue an order restraining the proposed export of monkeys. There are over 3 million monkeys of this species in Sri Lanka. These monkeys cause massive damage to the local crops. Export of monkeys will help Sri Lankan farmers protect their crops.
A Chinese private company involved in zoological parks and animal breeding had requested Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Agriculture in this regard a few months ago. Sri Lanka, RARE Sri Lanka, Justice for Animals and others cited Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaravi’s statement to the Appellate Court that there are plans to export toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China.
The petitioners requested the Court of Appeal to intervene and issue an order to stop the proposed export of toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China. When the matter was raised, the Attorney General said in open court that he had received information from the Department of Wildlife and Conservation that they would not proceed with the export of monkeys to China.
Loss of crores due to monkeys
Sri Lankan Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amarweera said on April 12 that a committee has been formed to look into the issue of one lakh monkeys being shipped from Sri Lanka to China. China has demanded 1,000 monkeys from Sri Lanka for zoos. There are plans to export monkeys to bring the economy back on track to recover from the economic crisis.
He further said that three rounds of talks with China regarding the demand for monkeys have been completed. The conversation is in the final stages. Amarweera was of the opinion that exporting monkeys would help Sri Lankan farmers protect their crops. The Agriculture Minister said that monkeys and squirrels in Sri Lanka cause the country to lose about 100 million coconuts. Due to which there has been a loss of around 157 crore rupees.
These monkeys are on the International Red List
Also, environmentalists said that monkeys should be counted before taking any decision. We want to know why China is inviting monkeys, do they want to do research on these monkeys? Aren’t they buying them for consumption? Although monkeys are not on the list of protected species in Sri Lanka, these monkeys have been included in the list of endangered species in the International Red List.
