NP: 30 monkeys from Lele released in Shivapuri

[Guest guest]

*Upsetting news for the campaigners who are in direct contact with the

Minister to ensure professional rehabilitation of the lab monkeys once

destined for US labs. *

 

*30 monkeys from Lele released in Shivapuri *

 

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details & news_id=14390

 

<http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details & news_id=14390>AKANS\

HYA

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: A group of 30 rhesus monkeys from the iniquitous

Biomedical Research Center in Lele, Lalitpur, have been released in the

Shivapuri National Park. The release was ordered as per the government´s

decision to stop monkey breeding and export to the United States for

biomedical research. The decision was taken six months back.

 

“Thirty monkeys have been released in the park a month ago and a team formed

under the park officials will monitor their behaviors,” Shiva Raj Bhatta,

the spokesperson for the DNPWC (Department of National Park and Wildlife

Conservation) told myrepublica.com on Saturday.

 

Bhatta said that the small group, from among 200 plus monkeys kept at Lele

lab, was released to see whether they “adjust” to the wild in Shivapuri.

“This is a rehabilitation process itself. We will observe whether the

monkeys adjust to the environment in the wild,” he added.

 

The plan is to check whether the 30 seed monkeys (picked from the wild for

research) can live in harmony with the original monkeys from Shivapuri,

learn to eat wild food and live in a healthy atmosphere. “This is the first

lot. We will release the others as per the team report soon,” Bhatta added.

 

However, the DNPWC´s decision to go ahead with the hard release has been

severely criticized by conservationists and animal rights activists in the

country. Accusing it of making a hasty decision, they have claimed that the

authorities bypassed the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of

Nature) guidelines on rehabilitation and reintroduction of the animals in

the wild.

 

“The authorities should have resorted to soft release first to see whether

they adjust to wild food,” Manoj Gautam, an award winning activist and the

main man behind Stop Monkey Business Campaign in Nepal, said. He added,

“There is no scope for experimenting with animals. The monkeys have been

released in violation of IUCN guidelines and without understanding the

ecology.”

 

Nepal is a signatory to the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), as per

which the member states are committed to the conservation of the entire

biodiversity.

 

Reintroduction may cause some problems for surviving wild populations and

ecosystems if not properly planned. As per IUCN guidelines, unplanned

release may create problems such as transmission of diseases, genetic

problems, over-population or fighting with introduced animals. Age-factor,

rearing conditions necessary to ensure the development of physical and other

abilities needed for survival in the wild, nutrition, trainings, health

check-ups, and suitable habitats containing critical resources are some

factors to be considered during reintroduction.

 

The conservationists have also said that the monkeys have been released

without neutering, which increases the chance of reproduction, thereby

affecting the accommodation capacity of Shivapuri.

 

Another activist from Animal Nepal said that although the DNPWC has claimed

that the 30 are seed animals, no concrete distinction has been made between

seed and captive breeds.

 

“It has been three years since they have been in the lab. Who has made the

differences?” the source questioned, adding, “In absence of tracking device

and lack of expertise, we will never know what will become of those

released.”

 

The activists have accused the DNPWC of releasing the monkeys without prior

consultation with the local partners and in the middle of the ongoing

planning on monkey release with the Ministry of Forest and Soil

Conservation.

 

“We did not know till Friday that they were released,” Gautam said.

 

akanshya

 

--

Lucia de Vries

Freelance Journalist

Nepal - Netherlands