The Sri Lankan Agriculture Ministry has submitted a written request to the Chinese zoo company Zhejiang Wuyu Animal Breeding Co. Limited to export crop-damaging monkeys for housing in their zoos for exhibition purposes.
The Chinese company claimed it made the offer in a letter to the Agriculture Ministry that was seen by NewsWire based on information that Sri Lanka wanted to eradicate specific crop-destroying organisms.
Minister Bandula Gunawardena, the cabinet’s spokesman, claimed that the government had not yet discussed sending Toque monkeys to China.
Yesterday (18), Minister Gunawardena informed the media that the proposal was one of many about Sri Lanka’s imports and exports that had been made by various parties.
He added that as a result, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera proposed exporting monkeys that ruin crops to 1,000 zoos run by a private company in China.
According to the Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has informed the Cabinet that a committee has been established in conjunction with the Chinese company and that investigation into the potential for exporting monkeys to China is under progress.
The Cabinet Spokesman further emphasized that live animals cannot be freely swapped between nations, adding that current legal restrictions prohibit such exchanges.
According to Minister Bandula Gunawardena, the committee in question will make a final determination once its investigation is complete.
