JOIN USThe government in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh has now added cash incentive to kill monkeys.
This is an attempt to involve more people in the culling process that has been ordered. Killing a monkey in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh will now earn a person Rs 300 in cash.
The directions issued by the forest and wildlife wing are being viewed as a desperate move, so that killing of monkeys can be carried out expeditiously before the ‘licence to kill’ granted by the Centre loses its validity.
Monkeys have been declared vermin by the Centre, in the state capital Shimla and 39 other destinations in the hill state. This was deemed necessary to prevent large scale damage to fields and property, and to control the monkey population.
Sources, however, told DH that the process of culling monkeys was turning out to be a ‘non-starter’. Many farmers were reluctant to shoot down monkeys. Until a fortnight ago, not one monkey was shot down. The government now hopes that the cash incentive will goad people to pull the trigger on monkeys.
The move arguably has a flip side. Wildlife lovers fear this could lead to killing of the monkeys even in non-designated areas in a bid to earn the cash incentive. The government may find it hard to check the inhuman malpractice that may set in.
Even with the incentive, the authorities in HP are not engaging themselves in the killing of monkeys. The wildlife department maintains that the killing has to be carried out by farmers or affected people on their own. This may have its own problems. Individuals or farmers may not have weapons, or may not be equipped to shoot down monkeys.