Sri Lanka is Considering Selling 100,000 Endangered Macaques to China
The proposal to export toque macaques to China for use in zoos has raised concerns among animal protection groups, who fear that the primates may be used for medical research purposes due to the high demand.
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Sri Lanka is considering exporting up to 100,000 monkeys to China, according to the country’s agriculture minister, raising serious concerns among animal protection and conservation groups.
A Chinese delegation has reportedly requested that the Sri Lankan government provide toque macaques for use in Chinese zoos. In response, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture has stated that they are considering the move as a means to help bolster Sri Lanka's economy and control the monkey population.
“They want the monkeys for over 1,000 zoos they have across China,” said Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Minister. “I have appointed a committee to study the request and see how we can do this.”
The toque macaque is a medium-sized primate native to Sri Lanka. Although the species is widespread on the island, it is currently classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and hunting threats.
The proposed sale of toque macaques has drawn criticism from the Environmental Foundation (EFL), a Sri Lankan animal rights group, which has highlighted the lack of a comprehensive survey of the macaque population in Sri Lanka for over four decades. The foundation argues that a proper population study should be conducted before any decision is considered.
Animal protection groups in Sri Lanka have also voiced concerns about the motives behind China's request to acquire toque macaques from Sri Lanka. Some activists fear that the animals may be used in the medical research industry, with the demand for primates in laboratories skyrocketing since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“We want to know why they want so many monkeys – whether it is for meat, medical research or some other purpose,” said Dr. Jagath Gunawardana, legal advisor to EFL. “Monkeys are not a protected species in Sri Lanka, but they are in the international red list of endangered animals.”
Rally for Animal Rights (RARE), a Sri Lankan animal advocacy group, questioned the validity of using the macaques for entertainment purposes. “As per globally accepted criteria for the definition of Zoos, in China, there are just 18 that fit the bill. This averages out at 5,000 macaques per Zoo. This is not credible,” they wrote in a statement posted on social media.
It is estimated that there are between 2-3 million toque macaques living in Sri Lanka. The primates face opposition from some of the public who view them as pests due to their crop destruction and raiding of villages for food.
Rather than exporting the animals, welfare advocates argue that a more sustainable solution to managing the human-monkey conflict in Sri Lanka would be to focus on conservation and habitat protection efforts.
“It’s a man-made problem. Human-wildlife conflicts are becoming more frequent, serious and widespread as human populations grow and habitats are lost,” Senior Advisor of Centre for Environmental Justice, Hemantha Vithanage told Timesonline. “This can lead to conflicts between groups of people over how to resolve the situation as a short-term solution. Regenerating the forest areas should be taken into account in favour of a durable solution.
“Reality is that people are not the owners of biodiversity. As environmentalists we have already submitted multiple strategic proposals months ago urging the authorities to resolve the pressing issue for which no notice was taken. Transparency, participation of people and law are the three main components that need to be given heed to at large,” added Vithanage.
WAMOS Air, a little-known Spanish airline owned in part by Royal Caribbean, is one of the airlines that are yet to ban the transport of macaque monkeys across the world to laboratories. Please join Species Unite in adding pressure to WAMOS Air and Royal Caribbean by signing our urgent petition here.
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