Succumbing to the state government’s repeated requests, the Union env-ironment ministry has declared monkeys “vermin” for six months in Shimla, clearing the decks for their large-scale extermination.
Succumbing to the state government’s repeated requests, the Union env-ironment ministry has declared monkeys “vermin” for six months in Shimla, clearing the decks for their large-scale extermination. Monkeys are known be a major menace in the highly-thronged tourist destination.
The notification in th-is regard was issued on March 14, allowing the Himachal government to initiate steps for the simian’s mass neutralisation. The monkey is the third species which has been declared vermin after wild boars and nilgai. The notification would insulate the state authorities from any penal provisions under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Sources in the environment ministry said that over the past few months, they have ince-ssantly been approach-ed by the state government to take this step because of destruction to property and crops caused by the animal in Shimla. Several incidents of attacks on visitors are frequently rep-orted as well with an estimate of 200 monkey bite cases every month. In a recent proposal, the Himachal government had urged the ministry of environment to dec-lare monkey’s as “vermin”.
“The state of Himachal Pradesh has reported harm to life and property, including large scale destruction of agriculture, due to overpopulation of rhesus macaque monkeys in areas outside forests. The Central government has considered it necessary to balance local population of this species to mitigate the damage to human life, crops and other properties of the state for ensuring conservation of wildlife in forests,” the notification reads.
Explaining the process of declaring any animal vermin, a senior ministry official said that any wild animal, even if it is a protected one, but poses danger to human life or property is allowed by the law to be exterminated. Monkeys are a protected species under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. “In situations like this the animals listed under Schedule I-IV are moved to Schedule V for a specific time.”
Before monkeys, the officials said, wild boars were declared vermin last month in Uttarakhand for a year and nilgai and wild boars in Bihar for a year in December last year.
“The declaration of monkeys as vermin may invite requests from other areas also as monkey menace is a problem at a lot of places, especially in the hill states,” the sources added.
