Sri Lanka to halt decision of exporting 100,000 endangered monkeys to China

Sri Lanka has decided to halt its decision to export 1,00,000 endangered Toque Macaque monkeys to China, the country's Attorney General on Monday told the Court of Appeal, amidst protests from environmental groups against the deal.

A privately-owned Chinese company connected to Zoological Gardens which are animal breeders had made the request to the island nation's agricultural ministry a few months earlier.

Sri Lanka, RARE Sri Lanka, Justice for Animals and others in the Court of Appeal pursuant to the statement made by Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said there were plans being made to export toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China.

The petitioners sought the Court of Appeal's intervention to issue an order to prevent the proposed export of toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to China.

When the case was taken up today the Attorney General stated in open court that they had received instructions from the Department of Wildlife and Conservation that they will not be taking steps to export monkeys to China.

Amaraweera was of the view that the export of monkeys would help Sri Lankan farmers protect its crop.

Deputy Solicitor General Manohara Jayasinghe appearing for the Wildlife Department made this revelation when a writ petition filed challenging the proposed capture and exportation of the endangered monkeys to China came before the court.

The President's Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena appearing for the animal rights organisations and animal rights activists told the court that they were glad to hear this positive response from the authorities.

I am very happy to hear this, if not, these monkeys will end up in Chinese restaurants," Jayawardena was quoted as saying in the report.

Meanwhile, Jayawardena moved authorities to communicate this decision in written format. The petition was accordingly fixed for July 7 by the Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and M.A.R. Marikkar.

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera recently announced that the government was considering the request by the Chinese government to export 1,00,000 Toque Macaque Monkeys, which are endemic to Sri Lanka, to China ostensibly to be displayed in Chinese zoos.

The toque macaque monkey is endemic to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. The cash-strapped island nation has removed several species from its protected list this year, including all three of its monkey species as well as peacocks and wild boars, allowing farmers to kill them. The toque macaque is known to destroy crops in several parts of Sri Lanka, and even sometimes attacks people. Authorities in Sri Lanka have pegged the monkey population in the country between two to three million.