The city of Lopburi in Thailand has started a mission to solve its monkey overpopulation issue.
According to Al Jazeera, the long-tail mischievous monkeys in the past four years have been facing slingshots by the citizens of Lopburi for creating problems, but now the authorities have started a crackdown to catch and sterilize them.
In the pre-Covid pandemic era, the 58,000 residents of “Monkey City” were happily living with 3,000 long-tailed macaques. The residents used to feed them and even throw a yearly fruit festival for the monkeys, which draws tourist attractions to the city located on a three-hour drive north of Bangkok.
Moreover, the macaques that live in nearby forests have always been part of Lopburi’s history, and it is believed by the people that they bring good fortune, but after the COVID lockdown, people in mid-2022 realized that monkeys had become aggressive because they were not getting food from the people.
The monkeys started scaring residents, stealing food, and causing trouble. Even sometimes a big group fought each other in mass brawls.
Wisarut Somngam, a local researcher with an NGO, Ecoexist Society, said, “Their method is robbery, by all means. They were ready to snatch anything off your hands, any bags they suspect contain food or items like mobile phones.”
Jirat Buapromart, a 54-year-old resident, explained, “We have to cage ourselves inside; we have no freedom even on the premises of our own homes. They are ready to steal anything they can from us.”
As the resident complained, mounted authorities took action against the monkey using slingshots and traps. The government wildlife department said in September that their goal is to neuter all the monkeys, “100 percent of them.”
After five months of campaign, Lopburi’s primate pandemonium has finally come under control, with about 1,600 monkeys in captivity. These monkeys would be sent to a designated area for care.
