While the first lot of 30 monkeys was released at the end of January, it has now been known that the remaining was let off in February end. [break]
“A total of 88 monkeys have been released so far,” Shiva Raj Bhatta, the spokesperson of DNPWC told myrepublica.com on Saturday.
The department´s decision, however, not only contradicts the Natural Resource and Means Committees´ (NRMC) directive, it is also against the international guidelines on re-introduction of animals into the wild.
“The law does not support such inconsiderate release of captive animals. It is against CITES as well as re-introduction guidelines,” Dr Ravi Sharma Aryal, a CITES expert said.
Aryal, who was involved in drafting the NRMC directive, also said that there is high possibility of disease transfer among other animals as a result of such reckless release. “There has been no health check-up of the captive monkeys. They cannot be released in the wild without step by step rehabilitation and readjusting their characters and behaviors,” Aryal argued.
Bhatta, on the other hand, claimed that the DNPWC is monitoring the monkeys´ behaviors. “We are inspecting. We have posted few officials for this job and it seems that everything is normal with them (monkeys),” Bhatta said.
- Decision contradicts House panel´s directive, CITES, CBD and international re-introduction guidelines
- Total 88 monkeys released
- Govt sidelines Dutch NGO´s rehabilitation package
- Welfare activists not allowed entry to Lele research center
The animal welfare activists have pointed at the negative impact of the release to the entire ecology of the park. “When the authorities know that random release of captive animals without proper rehabilitation could hamper the entire ecology, why are they not following the procedures?” Manoj Gautam, a conservationist questioned.
Nepal is also a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity), as per which the member states are committed to the conservation of the entire biodiversity. The country is also celebrating the Biodiversity Year 2010 this year.
The government has even sidelined a proposal forwarded by a Dutch NGO, AAP Foundation, for rehabilitation of the Lele monkeys. The organization had last month offered an action plan package worth 40,000 euros for the purpose, which could be raised to 200,000 euros. Two AAP members visited Kathmandu last month and held discussion with Forest Minister Deepak Bohara in this regard.
“Bohara had assured us of full-cooperation then. But the ministry is now indifferent to its own promises,” Gautam said, adding, “This shows state negligence over the issue.”
Gautam said that the ministry had assured to provide information and expressed commitment to a comprehensive plan on rehabilitation of the monkeys. He said that a study has to be conducted on the socialization aspect and their present living condition.
“We are now not even allowed to enter Lele center,” Gautam complained, adding, “Even the number of remaining monkeys in Lele is now debatable.”
While the DNPWC has quoted a figure of 200, conservationist claim that there could be around 300-400 monkeys.
The government some six months back banned breeding and export of rhesus monkeys to the United States for biomedical research.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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