Rascal monkeys again pillaging homes, shops

Monkeys climb along cables and power lines in front of shophouses near Khao Wang in Phetchaburi, ready for their next raid on the businesses and homes of the people there. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)

PHETCHABURI: An army of hungry monkeys is once again wreaking havoc in the local community at Khao Wang, ransacking homes and shops, stealing food and even attacking tourists visiting the town’s landmark hill.

Shop owners and residents, their patience with the bandits running low, lodged a complaint with assistant provincial governor Krissada Kaewsongmuang on Wednesday. They asked for state measures to tackle the problem of hundreds of invading monkeys.

It's not the first time they have complained, but nothing authorities have done to date seems to have made much difference.

Shopowner Waraporn Rattanapipopsil, whose Sanguanphopha shop sells Thai desserts, said just about everyone in the area - businesses, householders, schools and even the temple at Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park - was fed up with the animals' depredations.

At least 1,000 monkeys, long-tailed macaques, came down off the hill to ransack shops and houses every day. The animals stole food and whatever they could snatch from cars and motorcycles parked at the foot of Khao Wang. Some monkeys even bit tourists, Ms Waraporn said.

Sumit Laohapaki, the owner of Baitan restaurant who led the group to lodge the complaint, said the monkeys’ invasion of homes and shops had been occurring regularly for several years. Now, the problem had become even worse because the primate population was expanding rapidly.

Well-meaning people passing through the area took food to feed the hungry monkeys at the foot of the hill, but this only encouraged the animals' plundering of the local community.

These pillaging macaques were causing problems for shops and local residents. Authorities should urgently address the matter.

Mr Krissada said provincial authorities had earlier set up a committee to deal with the problem. Several measures had been taken, such as capturing and then sterilising monkeys to control their population and designating areas for people to feed the animals.

The assistant provincial governor said the macaques were a protected species under the Wild Animals Protection Act 1992. This presented a legal obstacle to taking drastic measures to deal with them.

He promised to bring the human population's plight to the attention of the provincial governor.