‘Monkeys too have right to be respected’

New Delhi, Sept. 18: Monkeys are the “original inhabitants” displaced by man “in the name of civilisation”, the Delhi high court said on Monday, stating it was painful to see them search for food in garbage bins.

A bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice C. Hari Shankar said these animals need to be “respected” and “given a place to stay”, as it pulled up the Delhi government and the municipalities here for “insufficient efforts in this regard”.

The court also observed that the authorities were bound to provide a place to them for survival, after it was told by the SDMC that it cannot catch the simians and relocate them due to lack of monkey-catchers and that this was the job of the wildlife department.

This prompted the bench to say, there has been a “steep rise in the number of monkeys who have no place to survive and no access to food”. “The respondents (Delhi government and MCD) should ensure a proper place for survival of these animals who were original inhabitants of land which stand occupied by men in the name of civilisation,” it said.

“They are entitled for respect. They also need place to stay. It is painful

At a time when many states like Himachal Pradesh have already declared wild animals such as mon keys as vermin, Delhi HC is shows sympathy towards the condition of monkeys and said that it was painful to see them search for food in garbage bins

to see groups of simians search for food in the garbage bin,” the bench said, adding, “what troubles us is that they have no place and no food. They are in a bad shape.”

It said there was a 2007 order of this court to all civic agencies for freeing the capital of simians in three months. It directed the concerned officials to appear before it in person and explain the modalities to be worked in this regard and fixed the matter for next hearing on September 26.

The SDMC’s inability to catch monkeys and relocate them to Asola-Bhatti sanctuary in south Delhi had led the court to seek the government’s reply. The SDMC had sought modification of the high court’s March 14, 2007 direction to the municipality to catch monkeys and relocate them.