Human Interest

Sri Lankan farmers to receive air guns to deter crop-damaging monkeys

Colombo, Feb 15 (EFE).- Hundreds of Sri Lankan farmers will receive compressed air rifles to scare away monkeys that devastate their crops, an official said on Thursday, as animal-human conflict escalates on the island.

“These monkeys are not just a problem, they are a crisis now. We are providing air rifles to farmers to protect their crops. They can use them to scare the monkeys away,” Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told EFE.

The minister said it was an experimental initiative targeting the agrarian Kegalle district. Depending on its success, the program may be expanded to other regions.

Siyambalapitiya said the situation had reached a critical juncture where it’s a matter of either “people will live or monkeys will.”

Farmers contend that the Sri Lankan macaque, also known as macaca sinica, poses a significant threat to their agricultural produce.

However, despite being considered a pest by farmers, this species, endemic to the island, is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

Government data cited by the IUCN indicates a decline of over 50 percent in the macaque population over the past four decades, primarily due to habitat loss.

Last year, the Sri Lankan government proposed sending 100,000 of these monkeys to a Chinese company for display in zoos, a move criticized by local and international animal rights organizations.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights group, cautioned that these primates might ultimately be subjected to medical experiments. Consequently, the plan was abandoned.

The encroachment for farmlands and new settlements into natural habitats of wildlife has exacerbated human-animal conflicts.

In January, animal rights activists staged protests in the Sri Lankan capital, calling on the United Nations to assist in safeguarding elephants in the country, where over 475 of these animals perished last year. EFE

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