MP wants monkeys brought to Colombo and released
An adjournment motion submitted by Kegalle district parliamentarian Rajika Wickremesinghe was taken up for debate on Thursday on the subject of crop damage caused by animals, including wild elephants and monkeys.
Most members from the agricultural areas expressed serious concern about the damage caused. They said the animals were not only posing a threat to crops but were also a menace to villagers, as monkeys were entering homes and even opening fridges, carrying away laptops and phones.
A majority of the MPs, seemingly under pressure from their constituents to demand urgent action from the government, said it was time the government decided whether priority should be given to the people or the animals.
Kegalle district MP Udayakantha Gunatillake said crocodiles too were posing a threat to those bathing in rivers. He added that these reptiles now get about freely, while the people were forced to bathe in an area secluded by wire mesh in the rivers and waterways in the district.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya Anuradhapura district MP Rohana Bandara said it was up to the government to maintain the balance between wild animals and the people and that it was time to reconsider the government proposal to export monkeys to Chinese zoological gardens as proposed by the Agriculture Minister.
The MPs drew attention to the opposition of wildlife activists to the proposals to export monkeys. But it was Badulla District parliamentarian, Retd. Major Sudharshana Denipitiya, who came up with a proposal to cope with the pressure from wildlife activists. “I have proposed that we catch the monkeys from the wild, bring them to Colombo, and release them," he said.
The matter will be referred to the Agriculture and Wildlife Ministers to resolve the issue.
I have proposed that we catch the monkeys from the wild, bring them to Colombo, and release them