Thailand to Limit Monkeys in Tourist Town of Lopburi
Thai wildlife officials have laid out a plan to bring peace to a central Thai city after at least a decade of human-monkey conflict.
The monkeys that roam Lopburi are a major tourist draw. But after years of dangerous encounters with residents and visitors, and several failed attempts to bring peace with population controls, local people and businesses have had enough.
The monkeys frequently try to snatch food from humans, sometimes leaving people with scratches and other injuries. In March a woman dislocated her knee after a monkey pulled her off her feet, and another man was knocked off a motorcycle by a hungry monkey.
Authorities hope to catch some 2,500 urban monkeys and place them in massive enclosures, said Athapol Charoenshunsa, the director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. They'll work with wildlife experts to find a way for a limited number of monkeys to stay at liberty in the city, he added.
"I don't want humans to have to hurt monkeys, and I don't want monkeys to have to hurt humans," he told reporters during a news conference in Bangkok.
Athapol said he expects the first phase of the operation to start within weeks, and believes the huge cages will be able to contain thousands of them and "will solve the problem very quickly."
The monkeys are a symbol of the province, about 140 kilometers north of Bangkok, where the ancient Three Pagodas temple celebrates an annual "Monkey Buffet" festival.
Some have blamed the city's monkey troubles on tourists and residents feeding the animals, which they say drew monkeys into the city, boosted their numbers, and got them accustomed to getting food from humans.
Previous control measures have fallen short. From 2014-2023, the wildlife authorities neutered about 2,600 Lopburi monkeys.
Athapol said they are also working in other areas of Thailand that are facing problems with monkeys. He said 52 of the country's 77 provinces report frequent monkey problems.
