23 October 2023 03:36 pm Views - 914
The initial programme to send 100,000 toque monkeys to zoos in China was disrupted due to lawsuits filed by environmental organizations, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.
While distributing air rifles to farmers in Agunakolapalassa, he said crop damage is mostly caused by toque monkeys.
However, the proposals presented by these environmental organizations to prevent crop damage caused by wild animals are not practical at all, he charged.
The Minister said that the suggestions by the environmental organizations were ideas like hanging sarees around the cultivations, tying plates to coconut trees, and that half an acre of the cultivations should be set aside for wild animals.
However, as there is a risk of a future food crisis, the destruction of cultivated crops by wild animals has created a serious crisis, Minister Amaraweera said. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)