Birth control prescribed for Hong Kong monkeys FEATURE 05/08/2011

Birth control prescribed for Hong Kong monkeys

FEATURE

05/08/2011
HONG KONG — Wild monkeys don’t seem to care that Hong Kong is a concrete jungle — they thrive so well on its fringes that the government has introduced birth control to curb a population boom.

Easy food handouts from some of the city’s seven million humans helped push macaque numbers to more than 2,000 in recent years — and a rise in nuisance complaints about monkeys that have lost a natural fear of people.

“I think we still have plenty of space for wildlife. But the countryside and the city are adjacent to each other and sometimes there is conflict,” said Chung-tong Shek of the government’s conservation department.

Reports of aggressive monkeys chasing hikers for food, grabbing bags and reaching for pockets surfaced in recent years as the macaque population grew..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110508com5.html