Restore the monkey ban

Tuesday, August 28, 2007, 05.34 PM

Wildlife: Restore macaque-trade ban
By : N. SURENDRAN, Kuala Lumpur

Some baby monkeys seized by the Wildlife and National Parks Department. The monkeys were destined for local restaurants and overseas market.


THE recent decision of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to lift the ban on monkey trading comes as a shock to all Malaysians who are concerned for our wildlife and abhor cruelty towards animals.

These poor animals are to be seized from their habitats and sold abroad where many of them will be slaughtered for the pot or for medical research.

How could the ministry decide to send our wildlife into captivity, torture and death?

The reason advanced by the ministry is that this is the only way to control primate overpopulation.

But what about humane culling? Surely it is immoral and callous to make money out of selling the monkeys, as if they were some kind of merchandise.

To make things worse, the ministry will be encouraging the trade in exotic wildlife in Malaysia and in the region.

Once the supply of "legitimate" macaques from Malaysia runs out, restaurants overseas serving exotic meat will surely turn to illegal traders in our country to satisfy the lucrative demand for monkey meat. This will lead to a huge increase in illegal hunting of macaques in our jungles.

One can only conclude that the ministry did not consider this matter deeply enough before lifting the ban.

Another reason cited by ministry officials is that there have been incidences of monkey attacks on humans in urban areas.

No empirical data was given as to the frequency of such attacks. In fact, one rarely hears of such attacks.

In any event, mass capture and slaughter of wildlife is surely a disproportionate reaction to isolated monkey attacks. It should also not be forgotten that indiscriminate development and human encroachment on monkey habitats is the real cause of these relatively rare attacks.

As a species, monkeys are quite similar to humans, both at a genetic and behavioural level. They live in close-knit family units and communities. It is horrifying to think that these wonderful creatures which share this world with us will soon be subjected to mass capture and slaughter.

I hope the ministry will restore the ban on monkey trading. Any other course of action will shame this country in the eyes of the world and subject our macaques to a terrible fate.
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