Sri Lanka scraps proposal to export monkeys to China

The island nation, facing its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, was considering a proposal by a Chinese private company to capture and export wild toque macaques to zoos in China.

Updated - June 28, 2023 05:49 pm IST - COLOMBO

Sri Lanka has scrapped plans to export 100,000 endangered toque macaque monkeys to China

Sri Lanka has scrapped plans to export 100,000 endangered toque macaque monkeys to China | Photo Credit: Getty images

Sri Lanka has scrapped plans to export 100,000 endangered toque macaque monkeys to China, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, one of the 30 petitioners who went to court against the proposal, said on Monday.

The island nation, facing its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, was considering a proposal by a Chinese private company to capture and export wild toque macaques to zoos in China.

Conservation organisations had warned that the monkeys could be headed to labs instead of zoos, and had approached the country's Court of Appeal seeking any decision to export them to China be quashed.

When the matter was taken up on Monday, the attorney general said the Department of Wildlife and Conservation had assured it that "they will not be taking steps to export monkeys to China", WNPS said in a statement.

"The case will be taken up before the Court of Appeal on 6th July to record the above undertaking given to the Court by the State," the WNPS said.

Toque macaques, currently found only in Sri Lanka, are among species identified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Animal rights non-profit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the government's decision recognised the animals "aren't commodities to be bought and sold". "These macaques are individuals with families who live in tight-knit communities. Their lives matter, and so does their contribution to their forest home," PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel said.

The value of the proposed deal between the company and the Sri Lankan government had not been disclosed.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.