PHNOM PENH: The Forestry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has launched two telephone hotlines that the public can use to report aggressive simian behaviour.
If members of the public are concerned by the behaviour of any monkey they come into contact with, they can alert the administration, who will remove them and return them to an appropriate location.
A statement from the Forestry Administration (FA) released today explained that the animals would be removed in order to keep tourists and members of the public safe.
“In the event that people encounter a large group of vicious monkeys or if a monkey is disturbing or harassing someone, they should contact the FA on 085780847 or 010556630. Trained officials will intervene to remove any monkeys that may present a danger to the public,” said the statement.
The captured monkeys will be released into the wild to increase the wild population or sent to breeding farms or zoos, depending on their condition.
Yung Ratana, deputy director of the FA's Conservation and Extension Office in Phnom Tamao, told The Post that the FA would extend its service to aggressive monkeys that belonged to families, noting that some people raised monkeys at home and when the monkeys grew up they could no longer manage them.
He explained that sometimes the animals presented a danger to their children or other family members and they took them into the bush to release them.
“In Phnom Penh, there are a number of such pet monkeys, and in Siem Reap and Kampot provinces, there are many of them. Sometimes the family raise small monkeys and it is difficult to release them when they grow up or when they become more aggressive,” he added.
He said that he often received previously domesticated monkeys from both the public and from anti-wildlife crime authorities and NGOs working on wildlife conservation.
The FA also called for the cooperation of the public, requesting that they not release unwanted monkeys at pagodas or other public places.
They should not touch the animals when they encounter them, give them food or play with them. People should maintain their distance from monkeys to ensure their personal safety and reduce the possibility of becoming infected by possible diseases. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
