Talk In Pictures
Himachal told to stop sterilizing monkeys after confirmed report of cruelty, abuse, and inhuman treatment
SHIMLA: The Animal Welfare Board of India has asked Himachal Pradesh to stop its monkey sterilization programme till it ensures humane treatment of the primitives, an animal rights activist said on Thursday.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), which operates under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has recommended to the state government that the monkey sterilization centres be shut down until the state forest department followed protocol, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India said in a statement.
“Sterilization is the most humane way to control the monkey population, but not if it’s being done in a cruel way,” the statement quoting PETA director of veterinary affairs Manilal Valliyate said.
“PETA is calling on the forest department to impose strict protocols that will protect monkeys from injuries, pain, distress, starvation and suffering before, during and after sterilization,” Valliyate said.
As per the state wildlife wing, a total of 94,334 monkeys have been sterilized since 2007. It has set up seven sterilization centres, each with an annual capacity of 5,000 surgeries. Two more centres are in the pipeline.
A team comprising functionaries of the Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Hisar in Haryana, the AWBI, the People For Animals (PFA) and PETA inspected the monkey sterilization facility in Shimla on February 27 and 28 and found that no written standard operating procedures were in place.
The team in its report said the captured monkey often suffered injuries, starvation, prolonged captivity and other abuses.
AWBI assistant secretary S. Vinodkumaar has urged the central and the state governments to take immediate action to comply with the requirements.
The monkeys at the monkey sterilization centres are captured by untrained individuals who hand the animals over to the facility for a monetary reward and many animals were seen suffering from traumatic tail and face injuries, for which they did not receive any veterinary treatment before their release, said the report.
The facility also operates on pregnant monkeys in the absence of an ultrasound machine to detect pregnancy and does not have a weighing machine to measure out anaesthetics properly, it said.
PFA national trustee Gauri Maulekhi told IANS over phone from Delhi that 29,038 monkeys were captured and 24,751 were sterilized between 2007 and 2014 at Shimla centre.
She said 4,557 (or 16 percent) out of the total sterilized monkeys were unfit as they were found to be either pregnant or already sterilised. “There is a noticeable change in behaviour of the sterilized monkeys due to opting unscientific techniques.”
Maulekhi, who was also part of team that visited the monkey sterilization centre in Shimla, also expressed doubts over the funds allocated for the programme.
“There seems to be massive misappropriation of funds in the name of sterilization. A thorough audit of the funds should be done by a central agency,” she added.
The monkey menace in Himachal Pradesh has also been raised several times in the budget session that concluded this month.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh informed the house: “Over the past few months, we have regularly urged the central government to allow export of monkeys and to declare them as vermin.”
Despite the high court order in January 2011 putting on hold the state’s decision to allow farmers to shoot monkeys, he admitted “culling is the most effective method to control monkey population”.
“Sterilization is the second best solution. We are seeking advice from experts how to meet this challenge,” he added.
Although, Shimla City is clean and green in papers for the district administration, ugliness of ground reality is increasing with each day. Over-construction comes with another curse – construction waste. This curse has been haunting the city for past many years, but authorities are rarely heard taking any measures to prevent it.
For instance, the spot shown in the picture lies exactly between two recently installed Solar-Powered CCTV cameras and two warning boards of the Forest Department (Shimla Division) at Lalpani on Shimla-Dhalli bypass. Despite it, someone dumped large heap of construction waste on the night of April 1. The dump has covered almost half of the road width, and is hampering traffic flow. At night, it could easily lead to accidents. On April 3, it remains where it was dumped.
Where is administration?
What’s the use of CCTVs and warning boards when there is human surveillance from the administration?
It’s a fatal mistake to ignore environmental degradation that comes with dire consequences.
Wake Up, Speak Up, and Save Shimla
Kids are vulnerable to fall victim to strangers they come across every day, everywhere, at the parks, neighborhoods, even at schools. Not all strangers are threat, but not all of them are nice and normal people. Parents can protect their children from such strangers by teaching them to avoid strangers or report suspicious behavior of anyone around them.
How changing names would help Himachal?
Vishwa Hindu Parishad has reportedly asked Governor Acharya Devvrat to consider changing the names of historical places linked with the British colonial legacy, and discuss the issue with the state the Centre Govt.
Do you think that there is any valid reason to change the names here? Is it enough reason to change names because these names are reminders of British colonial legacy? Why shimla’s water shortage, roads, air pollution, recent jaundice outbreak, corruption etc. aren’t in the priority list of issues or demands here?
A young leader’s activism combined with the concept of ‘Himachaliyat’ and ‘Virbhadra Singh Vikas Model’ may be a gamechanger for the Congress in Himachal
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