State to seek Centre's nod for bonnet macaque birth control programme

Surgical sterilisation, intramuscular injection, and oral contraceptives used in western countries

- MANOJ VISWANATHAN @ Kochi

While Kerala debates the need to control wildlife population to reduce human-wild animal conflicts, the forest department has decided to approach the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), seeking permission to launch a birth control programme to reduce monkey menace.

With farmers living on forest fringes complaining about the growing monkey menace affecting their livelihood, the plan is to use artificial birth control measures to control the population of bonnet macaques. A workshop will be held on May 28 to finalise the proposal.

Experts pointed out that western countries use many artificial birth control programmes like surgical sterilisation, intramuscular injection, and oral contraceptives to control wildlife population.