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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/s...ss-sri-lanka-considers-macaque-sales-to-china
Monkey business: Sri Lanka considers macaque sales to China
Updated
Apr 13, 2023, 9:24 AM SGT
COLOMBO - Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is considering exporting up to 100,000 endangered monkeys to China, the Agriculture Minister said on Wednesday, raising concerns among conservationists.
The toque macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka and common on the island but is classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
Sri Lanka bans almost all live animal exports, and the proposed sale comes as it faces its worst economic crisis since independence. No financial details were made available.
“They want the monkeys for over 1,000 zoos they have across China,” Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told Agence France-Presse.
“I have appointed a committee to study the request and see how we can do this.”
Monkeys are considered pests in Sri Lanka because they destroy crops and raid villages in search of food, and sometimes attack people...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg7v4tAiImA
Monkey business: Sri Lanka considers macaque sales to China
Updated
Apr 13, 2023, 9:24 AM SGT
COLOMBO - Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is considering exporting up to 100,000 endangered monkeys to China, the Agriculture Minister said on Wednesday, raising concerns among conservationists.
The toque macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka and common on the island but is classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
Sri Lanka bans almost all live animal exports, and the proposed sale comes as it faces its worst economic crisis since independence. No financial details were made available.
“They want the monkeys for over 1,000 zoos they have across China,” Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told Agence France-Presse.
“I have appointed a committee to study the request and see how we can do this.”
Monkeys are considered pests in Sri Lanka because they destroy crops and raid villages in search of food, and sometimes attack people...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg7v4tAiImA