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Attachment Attachment Attachment Attachment Attachment Attachment Pilibhit : The proposed release of more than 1,000 monkeys trapped in Bareilly into forest areas of Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur has raised concerns among forest officials, who said the plan lacks mandatory permissions and provisions for medical examination of the animals. The contractor has initially been tasked with trapping 1,000 monkeys from different localities in Bareilly, while an additional target may be assigned after the first phase, Maurya said, adding that the contract was for one year. “The entire Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is a protected area, while Gopalpur forest, spread over around 2,000 hectares, is a reserve forest. Similarly, the 5,847.70-hectare forest area in Shahjahanpur is categorised as a reserve forest.
Because of their dependence on food provided by people and that their close contact with humans and livestock could also expose them to pathogens, pTR veterinary officer Dr Daksh Gangwar said monkeys living in urban areas often have different dietary habits. Because monkeys are among their prey,” Gangwar said, leopards could be particularly vulnerable. “Monkeys trapped from civilian areas cannot be released in protected or reserve forests. These infections could be transmitted to wildlife if the animals are released in forests.
However, neither the civic body nor the contractor has sought permission from the forest authorities in Pilibhit or Shahjahanpur, officials said. Officials also said the absence of medical examinations before release could pose a risk of transmission of contagious diseases to wildlife and expressed concern that a large number of monkeys could also damage standing crops in villages near forest areas. Their release in unreserved and unprotected forests is subject to two mandatory conditions — medical examination of each monkey based on its tag and prior permission from the divisional forest officer concerned,” said PP Singh, chief conservator of forests, Bareilly zone, who also holds additional charge as PTR field director. Speaking to TOI , BMC commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Maurya, however, said the norms for the trapping drive did not include provisions for tagging or medical examinations of the monkeys. On the lack of permission from forest authorities, Maurya said it was the responsibility of the contractor who had been issued the work order. PTR divisional forest officer Manish Singh, who also holds additional charge of the Shahjahanpur forest division, said the proposed release would not be permitted in the forest areas of either district. The release of trapped monkeys is not permitted in any of these forests,” he said.
BMC issued a work order to a Mathura-based contractor last week to capture the monkeys. “Urban monkeys can be infected with diseases such as tuberculosis, rabies, herpes B, hepatitis and salmonellosis. Authorities of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and Pilibhit forest division alerted forest range officers on Wednesday about the proposed release following a trapping drive ordered by Bareilly Municipal Corporation (BMC).
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“Our forest rangers and field staff will maintain strict vigil against any unauthorised release of Bareilly’s monkeys in the forest areas,” Singh added. Download the TOI App.