'Sri Lanka govt waits for outcome of cases regarding export of monkeys to China'

The Sri Lankan government is waiting for the outcome of several court cases regarding the request to export monkeys to China in order to take a decision as the importer is ready to proceed with the request Sri Lankabased The Morning reported citing The Sunday MorningSpeaking to The Sunday Morning Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Dharma Wanninayake said that legal cases were proving to be a hindrance to the governments venture to export monkeys to China and the government will take the next step after the case ends He said that the relevant Chinese company continue to show interest in the projectEarlier this year the Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said that a Chinese company had presented a proposal to import toque macaques from Sri Lanka Skandha Gunasekara wrote in The Morning report He said that some 100000 monkeys will be exported to China The Morning reported He had noted that there was an overpopulation of these monkeys in Sri Lanka which he stressed were a pest to farmers as they destroyed swathes of crops on farmlandWhile addressing the parliament last week Mahinda Amaraweera said that a Chinese company had approached Sri Lankan government and expressed willingness in procuring monkeys for a number of zoos under its ownership He further said We were informed that there were 20 private zoos that required monkeys and were asked if we could provide about 10002000 monkeys as soon as possible The Sunday Morning reportedAs per the news report environmental groups raised objections against the move and made several allegations against the Chinese government and the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka The Chinese company is still willing to procure monkeys and talks have advanced However ultimately this venture must be carried out by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources ConservationSri Lankan Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the House that there were a few legal obstacles and that the government was in the process of making changes in the legislation The Morning reported She said that the necessary amendments have been referred to the Attorney Generals DepartmentEarlier in April activists held a protest after the Sri Lankan Agriculture minister announced that the authorities are planning to export 100000 endangered toque macaque monkeys to a private Chinese company Voice of America reportedThe toque macaque which is endemic to Sri Lanka features in the International Union for Conservation of Natures red list of endangered animals it is not a protected species in Sri LankaAfter the announcement conservationists and animal rights activists warned however they do not believe the Chinese zoos have space for 100000 toque macaques and that it was more likely the monkeys would be used for testing in labs as per the news reportSri Lankan authorities have said that farmers consider the roughly 3 million toque macaques in Sri Lanka as a menace as they damage their crops Voice of America reported The conservationists have criticized the move with many expressing fear the animals may be used for tests in labsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever