Throwing a spanner in the NDMC’s works of installing electric fences around several buildings to deal with monkey menace, an animal rights group has served a legal notice to the civic body, saying that the move was in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act. The civic body, on the other hand, has rejected the allegation and claimed that it did not have any formal proposal for putting power fences or simian tape.
According to the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) initial plans, it had decided to put simian tape around government buildings and the residences of ministers in lutyens’ Delhi. However, Ahinsa Maha Sangh, a registered animal welfare organisation, has objected to the move claiming that it was in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.
“The electric shock can damage vital parts of the body of the monkeys, which may include pregnant ones. Any type of injury and cruelty to the animal is a violation of the Wild life Protection Act. We understand that the increased number of monkeys is a problem for common man but that cannot be the ground to injure them,” the body said in a notice issued to the civic agency.
The animal rights group has asked the NDMC whether it sought the advice of wildlife experts and permission from the forest department in this regard. It has also raised objections to the NDMC using rubber bullets to scare the monkeys away. The group said it would move court if the NDMC did not stop using rubber bullets within two weeks and reply to the notice in four weeks’ time.
Meanwhile, the NDMC claimed that it had never floated any proposal on this as the simian tapes are “too expensive”. “We had never planned to put simian tapes. Interested companies, though, had come to us with this technique which is safe and successful in many areas. Besides, CPWD already has it in its buildings,” said a senior NDMC official.
Another official explained, “The simian tape method is not harmful as these are very low voltage electric fences. So, the moment the monkeys try to climb any wall, they will receive a slight shock and will be scared away.” NDMC has been facing a tough time in keeping monkeys at bay in its areas despite trying several methods from hiring langur handlers to using air guns or rubber bullets.