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Sri Lanka counts seven million crop-busting monkeys
Sri Lanka counts seven million crop-busting monkeys
by AFP Staff Writers
Colombo (AFP) June 12, 2025

Sri Lanka counted more than seven million monkeys during a census of crop-destroying wildlife, authorities said Thursday, after a government minister called the figure "unbelievable".

Agrarian Research and Training Institute (ARTI) Chief Executive A. L. Sandika said that the refined data was in line with a previous survey "a few years ago", but did not elaborate.

"Initially, we had some issues with the data on monkeys. We had to check again to arrive at the final result," Sandika told reporters in Colombo.

Deputy Environment Minister Anton Jayakodi announced last week that the census conducted on 15 March -- the first of its kind -- had turned up "unbelievable" data that required verification.

Authorities suggested that some enraged farmers might have exaggerated the numbers to suggest that the problem was even bigger in the nation of 21 million people.

Residents across the island were asked to count wild boar, peacocks, monkeys, and lorises-a small, largely nocturnal primate-spotted near farms and homes during a five-minute period.

The move was aimed at drawing up a national plan to deal with nuisance wildlife.

Opposition legislator Nalin Bandara had said the survey was "a complete failure, a waste of money".

Officials say more than a third of crops are destroyed by wild animals, including elephants, which are protected by law because they are considered sacred.

While elephants are major raiders of rice farms and fruit plantations, but they were not included in the March count.

The then-agricultural minister proposed in 2023 exporting some 100,000 macaques to Chinese zoos, but the plan was abandoned following protests from environmentalists.

Sri Lanka removed several species from its protected list in 2023, including all three of its monkey species as well as peacocks and wild boars, allowing farmers to kill them.

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