CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA 
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Toque monkeys could be heading for labs in China: CEJ
The first batch of 100,000 toque monkeys could be heading for test labs in China, Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ), Hemantha Withanage said.
He said these monkeys could be used for experiments and testing of cosmetic products and medical experiments.
"As per the globally accepted criteria for the definition of zoos, there are only 18 zoos in China that fit the bill, which averages out to 5,000 monkeys per zoo, and so the claim is not credible," he said.
“Even though the government is planning to sent 100,000 monkeys to China, the monkey population in the country will not decrease with the remaining number of monkeys,” he said.
"If these monkeys are sent to zoos in China, they should be taken care of as zoo animals in Sri Lanka and should be born in a zoo. We do not have 100,000 toque monkeys in zoos. Therefore, this situation cannot be justified under the law in the country," Withanage said.
"These animals should be captured from temple areas, such as the areas of Sri Dalada Maligawa, Anuradhapura, and Mihintalaya. The monkeys living in these areas have the right to live in those areas just like us, humans," he said.
“Therefore, it is not acceptable to send monkeys to China Labs from the said religious places and torture them.
“We hope that the Minister will revoke the decision. The Minister cannot decide on exporting animals to other countries on his own, but the decision can be taken by the Wildlife Director-General justifying the situation.
“If not, the CEJ will take legal action against the decision under the current wildlife law,” Withanage added. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama and Indika Sri Aravinda)
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