Monkey menace: Legal notice to NDMC on power fences move

Throwing a spanner in the NDMC's works of installing electric fences around several buildings in its area to deal with monkey menace, an animal rights group has served a legal notice to the civic body, saying that the move was in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.
The NDMC, which failed to keep monkeys at bay even after spending lakhs of rupees, has decided to put power fences or simian tape around government buildings and the residences of ministers in Lutyens' Delhi.
The tape has electric wires that could deliver a low- voltage shock to the monkeys trying to climb the buildings. The civic body claimed that the tape is completely safe and would just scare them away.

However, Ahinsa Maha Sangh, a registered animal welfare organisation, has objected to the move claiming that it was in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.
"The electric shock can damage vital parts of the body of the monkeys, which may include pregnant ones. Any type of injury and cruelty to the animal is a violation of the Wild Life Protection Act. We understand that the increased number of monkeys is a problem for common man but that cannot be the ground to injure them," the body said in the notice.
The animal rights group has asked the NDMC whether it sought the advice of wildlife experts and permission from the forest department in this regard.

It has also raised objections to the NDMC using rubber bullets to scare the monkeys away.
The group said it would move court if the the NDMC did not stop using rubber bullets within two weeks and reply to the notice in four weeks' time.
NDMC, however, said the method has been successfully tested and is safe for animals from health perspective.