I am in total disagreement with the misleading views, false allegation and accusation by the Malaysian Animal Rights and Welfare Society (Roar) in regard to their quest to get the government to restore the ban on the export of monkeys.
Apparently, it seemed that local NGOs, the US-based International Primate Protection League (IPPL) and a few local press are casting aspersion on the government due to the fact that they don't understand the truth behind the lifting of the ban to allow the export of urban problematic monkeys for captive breeding programme and biomedical research.
False and sympathetic pictures by IPPL and NGOs of monkey babies cramped in export cages were flashed in their articles and media. False allegations were also made that exported monkeys were for meat lovers or bush meat slaughtered in cruel and inhumane methods.
Till today not even one macaque has been exported yet. Indeed, the government will not allow the export of monkeys for exotic meat or bio-warfare research as it is cruel and inhumane. The macaques will only be exported after much money is spend on quarantine, TB and blood test and after they fulfill all import and export requirements. There is no quick money involved as claimed.
The local NGOs, the IPPL and a few local press are unhappy over the export of problem urban monkeys, but rather prefer them to be culled and euthanise. The ministry on the other hand felt that this would be a waste of renewable natural resources. Instead, the monkeys should be put to a good and meaningful use for mankind and future generation.
Allow me to relate some of my 36 years of experience with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, of which I served 14 years as director general. Statistics from non-detrimental finding (NDF) studies by the department have shown that about 483,747 monkeys were found to inhabit the forest edge, of which about 258,406 monkeys lived in conflict urban areas. The studies also recorded about 179,120 monkeys in hot spot areas where they were in contact with human habitation.
Although monkeys have been listed as protected species under the Protection of Wildlife Act, No 76/72, of late the population has exploded to the extent that it has become a pest as the NDF studies have found in several urban areas of Peninsular Malaysia. As a result, the department has to spend more funds to capture, translocate and cull some of the animals over the years. Being prolific in nature, the monkey population continues to multiply exponentially, especially in the urban/human conflict areas and the problem remain unsolved.
It was also noted not only the animals were scouring rubbish bins for food but they also sneaked into homes and created problems. In rural areas, they created havoc as they forage in fruit orchards and 'dusuns'. As we all know, macaques carry diseases and can pass them to humans. This may pose a health hazard to the human population and urban Malaysians are now living with the 'time bomb' of an outbreak of diseases carried by monkeys.
There are research study done and articles written by Harvard School of Public Health that showed wild monkeys carry many diseases and some incurable diseases. Malaysia is not waiting for the outbreak of diseases before action is taken.
The urban problem monkeys will be captured under the strict supervision and scrutiny of department officials and the capture of the monkey population is to be done sustainably. A percentage of the money accrued for the programme will be contributed to the Wildlife Trust Fund, which ultimately helps the department reduce its dependency on government funds.
It should be noted that only selected healthy captured monkeys will be exported and bred in captivity, which will be subsequently used only for biomedical and other related research work that will ultimately benefit human health and well-being. It is also felt that monkeys are the most suitable to be used as specimens for biomedical research because the genetic and behavioural level of monkeys were very close and similar to that of humans.
The biomedical research will bring benefits to hundreds of millions of human beings, e.g. Aids, hepatitis B & C, malaria, acute respiratory diseases, periodontal disease, aging and nutrition, brain biology, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and silent killer diseases such as cancer and polio.
In US, the majority of animals use in biomedical research are 95% rodents, 4.75% other lab animals and less than 0.25% non- human primates (monkeys). The ratio is very small compare to the benefits thousands of millions of human beings can gain from drugs, treatment or vaccines.
All animals research is conducted under strict regulation and supervision by the federal Animal Welfare Act - the key law governing research with animals, and with many other animals welfare rights organisations supervision against cruelty plus its funding conforming to National Institute of Health, Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use Of Laboratory Animal.
Humans have accepted the killing of hundred of millions domestic animals for meat protein like cattle, goats, chickens, fishes, etc, for consumption, which were considered as wild animals by our great grandparents. Countries such as Indonesia, Mauritius, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Laos and China have long been exporting monkeys for biomedical research and other related works that benefits mankind. Why not Malaysia?
The writer is ex-director-general of Department of Wildlife.
