In 2016, WII scientists had given signal that they would administer an oral immuno-contraceptive, porcine zona... Read More

DEHRADUN: After Himachal Pradesh , the forest department of Uttarakhand has decided to declare monkeys “vermin” in the state, allowing the local authorities to cull the animal. The decision has been given in-principle go-ahead by chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat who headed the 14th State Wildlife Board meeting in Dehradun on Tuesday. The officials claimed that monkeys are becoming a nuisance for farmers as they are ruining their crops while attacks by moneys have gone up in the urban areas.

Incidentally, Uttarakhand had put wild boars in vermin category in 2016. The state has also decided to get permission to cull wild boars extended as it expires this month.

According to the forest department, Uttarakhand is home to around 1.5 lakh monkeys and their population is increasing 36% every year.

The ones causing menace in the state are the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), which is in the Red List of IUCN’s threatened species.

State forest minister Harak Singh Rawat said, “If it was okay to declare monkeys vermin in Himachal Pradesh then we are confident that the Centre would consider the problems of farmers in Uttarakhand too. Our villagers are migrating from the hills also because whatever they grow is being destroyed by these monkeys.”

Notably, the Uttarakhand high court had last year directed the state government to find a solution to the monkey menace within the ambit of law in the most “humane manner possible”. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has also population control plans to combat simian menace in the state. In 2016, WII scientists had given signal that they would administer an oral immuno-contraceptive, porcine zona pellucida (PZP), to stop the ever-increasing population of monkeys in Uttarakhand.

Rajiv Bhartari, chief wildlife warden, said, “Monkeys would be declared vermin for urban areas and also we will select some vulnerable zones where we would seek permission for culling.” “We are yet to finalise the proposal which will be sent to the Centre for final clearance. It would be on the lines of Himachal Pradesh owing to similar geography and conditions,” he added.

