Monkey census: It’s more than monkey business, and it is tough

A plan by the Delhi Forest and Wildlife Department to control the surging monkey population in the capital through laparoscopic sterilisation was later dropped.

New Delhi: Monkey menace is quite a big challenge in Himachal Pradesh.

Animal rights activists have been opposing the sterilisation of monkeys in Delhi, citing failed attempts in the Himachal Pradesh and Agra region of Uttar Pradesh. There are reports that there will be a census of monkeys in the Delhi region under the auspices of a panel headed by the Chief Wildlife Warden of Delhi.

The census is "proposed to be conducted to assess the number of monkeys and identification of problematic areas". The Department of Forests and Wildlife is likely to enlist the services of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for the census.

The committee was constituted with representatives from the veterinary services of the MCDs, officials of the animal husbandry unit in the Delhi government, and the Deputy Conservators of Forests. The panel was set up on the directives of the Delhi High Court.

In 2018, the Delhi Forest and Wildlife Department had drawn up plans to control the surging monkey population in the capital through laparoscopic sterilisation, but the plan was later dropped.

The officials had also maintained that funds would be requested from the centre to initiate steps to ensure some professional and effective training programmes for the monkey catchers employed by the civic bodies. The Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun was also approached to start initial works.

Officials had also said there was no satisfying literature or survey reports about the large-scale success of laparoscopic sterilisation. There are perhaps over 25,000 monkeys in the sanctuary. It was also decided to conduct monkey mapping in 2020, but the plans were dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.