Irian Jaya's Macaca fascicularis

[Guest guest]

4 October 2001

 

Ms. Kathryn Fuller, Executive Director

World Wildlife Fund

Mr. John Burke Burnett, Executive Director

Indo Pacific Conservation Alliance

cc: Editor, Wall Street Journal

 

 

Irian Jaya's Macaca fascicularis (crab-eating macaque monkeys)

 

 

Dear Ms. Fuller and Mr. Burnett,

 

I read the 2 October 2001 Wall Street Journal article " Monkeys

Threaten New Guinea's Wildlife, Greedy Macaques Have Bad Reputation

Among Locals " with interest and considerable dismay.

 

My dismay results in part from the overt bias in the tone of the article

which seems geared to elicit public sentiment against the little macaques.

Reading

the article, one could easily be led to believe that the monkeys have a malice

intent; though the truth is that all the " crimes " the crab-eating macaques are

guilty

of results from their survival instinct... their need for sustenance... And, of

course (as with the case of any " non-native, introduced " species), it is because

of misguided human intervention that the monkeys are living in Irian Jaya in

the first place.

 

As the Irian Jaya situation illustrates, it is no wonder that there would

have

been confusion over the " WWF " name: Certainly the " other " WWF (the

wrestling folks) could have come up with " Shoot and kill all the monkeys " as

a resolution to the Irian Jaya macaque problem. However, one would expect

more from an international conservation organization such as the World Wildlife

Fund. Namely, a wildlife protection and conservation organization should resort

to considering lethal means only after the exploration and trial of every

available

non-lethal resolution.

 

Regardless of your best intentions, with all due respect for the severity

of the problem and regardless of how much sentiment against the monkeys

you attempt to rally, killing the Irian Jaya macaques will likely be much more

of an emotionally-charged controversy than the snaring of introduced pigs

in Hawaii was when Nature Conservancy embarked upon its eradication

program. Monkeys (despite attempts to portray them as " greedy " , " grubby " ,

" aggressive " ) typically do elicit more sympathy than many other species.

You should not be surprised that any attempt to kill the monkeys will

be met with protest and public out-cries.

 

Why is it not possible to humanely trap the Macaca fascicularis, set

up a large enclosure, vacestomize the males, and let them live out their

lives?

 

If the excuse is that it is not possible to capture the monkeys (as is

referenced in the Wall Street Journal article), then I beg to differ. Nonhuman

primates can successfully be trapped with a well-planned and organized

effort. There are many examples of successful trapping and relocation

programs (e.g., the relocation of baboons by Shirley Strum.)

 

If strategically-placed large cages are set-up as " feeding stations " in

Irain Jaya, the monkeys will (after a time) go in to the cages. Eventually,

the monkeys will become habituated to the cages and quickly enter the cages

for the food. After being habituated, it is simply a matter of springing

the cage door to have the monkeys captured.

 

If the excuse for not exploring non-lethal options is that it would be

cost prohibitive, again, I disagree. Successful capture and relocation

programs of nonhuman primates have been accomplished with minimal

financial resources, specifically on " shoe-string " budgets. In essence,

" where they is a will, there is a way. " Guidestar notes WWF's 1998

assets as $134,340,223; income as $111,994,391 and net gain as

$32,014,816. The overall costs of capturing, relocating, erecting a large

enclosure and even providing subsequent care for all the macaques on

Irian Jaya would indeed be a very small fraction of WWF's budget.

 

The Texas Snow Monkey Sanctuary (http://www.snowmonkeys.org)

in Dilley, Texas is a model example for the type of enclosure which could

be built for the Irian Jaya macaques as well as showing that it is possible to

capture large groups of macaques without harming them. At TSMS, there

are almost 400 macaques enclosed in 65 acres which is surrounded by a

state-of-the-art electrified fence. Years ago, the macaques were living freely

in the south Texas scrub land. A well-organized capture plan ensured

that all the monkeys were safely caught.

 

I implore you to investigate and thoroughly explore all the non-lethal

options available before you further pursue a plan which will result in

the tragic loss of life for the Irian Jaya macaques.

 

If you have any questions, or if you would like additional information

about viable safe-capture of monkeys, or if you would like feasibility

estimates for the non-lethal methods I have suggested, I welcome you

to contact me.

 

Sincerely,

Linda J. Howard

 

AESOP-Project [Allied Effort to Save Other Primates]

http://www.aesop-project.org