Himachal government mulls declaring monkeys as vermin HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Shimla..

In a bid to rein in the wild animal menace, the government would set up enclosed habitats for marauding monkeys — a major cause of concern for the agrarian community across the state.

Forest minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri in reply to a question of Kullu legislator Maheshwar Singh said that the government was working on checking man-animal conflict. He said the forest department has already conducted a survey to assess the population of monkeys.

The government would declare monkeys as vermin after assessing the survey. He said that the enclosed habitants for the monkeys would be set up in nine different locations where sterilisation centres were already functional.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in a supplementary wanted to know whether the government made any correspondence with the Central government about declaring the monkeys as vermin. Dhumal demanded the forest minister to table the copy of the correspondence in the House.

Dhumal said in his assembly segment the monkeys had made it difficult for children to go to schools while the women folks are hesitant to work in the fields. He urged the forest department to at least declare the monkeys as vermin in Shimla and Hamirpur towns where the menace was alarming.

and the news continues!!!!

THE STATE government has, in a proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), sought the Centre's intervention to declare monkeys as vermin so as to allow their selective killing in hotspot areas.

At least seven tehsils in Kangra district, five each in Una, Bilaspus and Sirmaur, are among 39 tehsils in the state's 10 of 12 districts that have been identified as monkey hotspots - where the concentration of the simians is very high.

Barring Mandi district, where only one tehsil i.e. Sundernagar has been identified as monkey hotspot, Shimla and Chamba have four each and Kullu three, which also include popular tourists destination of Manali besides Sainj and Kullu.

The state's communication was sent on March 14, 2016 after the issue was raised in the state assembly. While the government in the proposal detailed the steps, including sterilization of monkeys since 2007, taken so far, it also tried to convince the Centre that every year agriculture crops worth Rs 184.28 crore were destroyed by the monkeys. They also destroyed horticulture crop worth Rs 150.10 crore as per the 2014 studies.

As per the data complied by the wildlife department, there has been a rise in monkey attacks on human beings - from 18 in 2007 to 402 in 2011.

The highest number of monkey attacks - 513 - was reported in 2013-2014.

The proposal also adds: "Since the government has exhausted all possible deterrents, yet the problem is still alarming, which calls for considering the request to declare Rhesus macaque ( Monkeys) as vermins under Section 62 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, initially for a period of one year and only in the selected hotspot tehsils."

Earlier in May 2015, the MoEF had declined Himachal Pradesh government request to declare monkeys vermin till a proper census was conducted to identify hotspots. The government informed the MoEF that a survey of the monkey population has been done in July 2015.