Himachal Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri on Sunday said that the State Government is soliciting public opinion on how to tackle the 'monkey menace' which has caused crop losses worth hundreds of crores of rupees in recent years,
The Forest Minister has urged the people of State to give their valuable and effective suggestions for control over the monkey menace in the state.
The number of monkeys in Himachal Pradesh increased five-fold from 61,000 to 317,000 between 1990 and 2004, according to the state wildlife department.
Their number has since declined, presumably due to the State Government's sterilization programme. The state is currently home to 207,614 monkeys, still a very high number, according to Bharmouri.
He said reports are being received from different parts of the state where the monkeys are damaging the crops and other properties.
The State Government is taking effective measures to check the monkey menace and the matter had also been repeatedly raised with the Government of India.
As a result, the Union Government had declared monkeys vermin in 38 Tehsil of 10 districts for one year and within the limits of Shimla Municipal Corporation for 6 months, said the Minister.
While the High Court on April 19 issued notice to the central and state governments on the issue of declaring monkeys 'vermin' within the Shimla Municipal Corporation's jurisdiction, the Apex Court on June 20 refused to put on hold a notification that allows the culling of monkeys.
The notification was issued on March 14 by the central government, declaring monkeys 'vermin' in Shimla for a period of six months. Another notification was issued in May to treat monkeys as vermin for a period of one year in other districts of Chamba, Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Sirmour, Kullu, Hamirpur, Sonlan and Mandi.
The notifications allow mass killing or 'culling' of monkeys in the State.