Rights activists worry Lankan toque macaque may end up in labs in China

Several organisations of conservationists and animal rights activists in Sri Lanka raised their voice against an alleged move by the government to send some 100,000 toque macaques to China.

In response to Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera's announcement that authorities were considering sending toque macaque monkeys to be displayed in zoos in China, conservationists said these animals may most likely end up in labs for testing purposes.

Four conservation organisations --Wildlife & Nature Protection Society, Center for Environmental Justice, Federation of Environmental Organizations, and Rally for Animal Rights and Environment Sri Lanka-- said last week that there are only 18 Chinese zoos fitting the "globally accepted criteria" of a zoo.

"If we send 100,000 monkeys, one zoo will receive 5,000 macaques. This is highly unlikely. Macaques, with their human-like qualities have been particularly popular, especially with medical testing facilities in the US and Europe. The potential income from such a trade would be far greater than that from the sale of this species to zoos," the statement continued.

Meanwhile, Minister Amaraweera said a private Chinese company would be given approval to capture toque macaque, which is not a protected species in Sri Lanka, and send them to China without being charged any fee. However, this proposal awaits Cabinet approval.

Media reported that the name of the Chinese company that sent the request for the toque macaques is Zhejiang Wuyu Animal Breeding Co. Ltd., and it has not issued any statement regarding the issue.

Rally for Animal Rights and Environment Executive Director Panchali Panapitiya said it is "obvious that this company has plans to supply the monkeys to animal testing labs."

"Even if the toque macaques are sent to 1,000 zoos, as the Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture claims, each zoo would have 100 monkeys. Have you ever seen a zoo housing 100 monkeys of the same species? The claim that these animals are going to zoos lacks credibility," Panapitiya has told the media.

"We believe these monkeys will land in the labs where they will be burnt with chemicals and poisoned with toxins. And they will die untimely and painful deaths," she said.

A move to export monkeys to zoos would also be illegal, as Sri Lankan law permits animals to be exported only for scientific research, the activists pointed out.

Minister Amaraweera said that the proposal to import the toque macaques was being evaluated by a government-appointed expert committee.

Sri Lankan authorities say farmers view the roughly 3 million toque macaques in Sri Lanka as a menace because they damage crops.

"Toque monkeys are the foremost among the animals that cause crop damage in this country. All the efforts made by the government so far to reduce its population have failed," Amaraweera said.

Meanwhile, issuing a statement last week, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said the government agency that manages the import of wild animals in China was not aware of a request made to send toque macaques from Sri Lanka.

The Embassy said it has checked with relevant authorities in Beijing, adding that the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the main government department supervising and managing the import and export of wild animals and plants, has clearly clarified that it is not aware of the request and has not received such an application from any side.

The Embassy said the claim that the Sri Lankan monkeys could be used for "experimental purpose" was "disinformation.”

The Embassy stressed that as a contracting party of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), China has already adopted its Wildlife Protection Law in 1988 with several amendments afterwards.

“The Chinese Government always attaches great importance to wildlife protection and actively fulfills international obligations, which makes China one of the top countries in the world in terms of wildlife protection legislation and law enforcement,” it added.

The Chinese Embassy’s clarification comes after it was reported that the Chinese Zoo Company, Zhejiang Wuyu Animal Breeding Co. Limited had made a written request from Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Ministry to export crop-damaging monkeys to be placed in their zoos for exhibition purposes.

In a letter addressed to the Agriculture Ministry, seen by NewsWire, the Chinese firm said it has made the offer based on reports that Sri Lanka was looking to get rid of certain crop-destroying species.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the government has not held any discussion on exporting Toque monkeys to China.

Minister Gunawardena told the media last week that the proposal had been made along with several other proposals provided by various parties pertaining to the imports and exports of Sri Lanka.

He further said that thereby, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera made a proposal to export crop-destroying monkeys to 1,000 Zoos operated by a private firm in China, adding that a committee has been appointed to address the matter.