HP wants Centre to lift ban on monkey export

SHIMLA: With the farming community being adversely affected by the huge monkey population in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government has requested the Centre to lift the ban on export of simians.

"The Forest department has written a letter to the Union Environment Ministry seeking an end to the ban of over two decades on export of monkeys," sources in the Forest department said.

Under pressure from animal rights activists, the Central government had imposed a country-wide ban on the export of monkeys in 1982, the sources said.

Ban on export of monkey mainly to the US and some European countries for carrying medical experiments that fetched fairly handsome cash had come as a setback to Himachal Pradesh.

With a sizable population of about 3.5 lakh monkeys now, HP has made a strong plea to the Central Government to reconsider its past decision and allow it to resume export of primates as part of its efforts to check monkey menace in the state, the sources added.

Besides seeking permission for export of monkeys, the Himachal Pradesh government has initiated several measures to overcome the problem due to the Primates particularly to farmers and horticulturists.

Forest Minister J P Nadda said that sincere efforts were being made to check monkey menace by intensifying sterilisation drive by latest laser technology and creation of primate parks.