From: The Himalayan Times, June 3, 2003
Monkeying around with laws of the country
By Shree Ram Subedi
Conservationists and officials concerned with wildlife
are uptight over a recent health research-cum-treatment
conducted on rhesus monkeys by the US primate centre and its
local partner at Swayambhu. For two reasons.
One: It was done illegally. An Act enacted in 1973 makes it
mandatory that for such research on animals, domesticated or
not, prior permission of the Department of National Park and
Wildlife Conservation has to be obtained. "We carried out
the treatment on the request of the Swayamabhu Development
and Managing Committee," said Dr Mukesh Chalise, general
secretary of the Natural History Society, the partner of the
US centre in Nepal . But that argument clearly does not
wash.
"During the course of the four-day treatment, stool, blood,
swap and hair of 43 monkeys were collected. The monkeys were
darted with sedatives or trapped in nests to conduct the
tests," said Mahendra Ratna Bajracharya, general secretary
of the foundation.
Dr Ravi Sharma Aryal, a PhD on the implementation aspects of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
in India and Nepal, said, "It's a type of bio-piracy to
collect blood samples from wild animals without the
permission of DNPWC."
Section 26 of the DNPWC Act, 1973, empowers the state to
levy a fine of Rs 10,000 or to jail for two years anyone
causing harm to wildlife. "We were not notified during the
entire operation," said , director general of DNPWC. He said
his department would seek explanations from both the bodies.
Two: Certain quarters feel the treatment of the monkeys was
but an insidious beginning of a sinister design.
In a move that will not only enrage wildlife enthusiasts but
will also draw protests from devout Hindus, the US centre is
seeking permission to set up a subsidiary in Nepal and to
use monkeys for bio-medical research. A request by the
Centre was turned down in 2001 on the grounds that monkeys
are venerated as Lord Hanuman in Nepal . "We intend to set
up a primate centre to export the second generation of the
captive monkeys and perform biomedical research," said Dr
Chalise.
But till date Nepal has no rules governing farming and
breeding of monkeys. But the DNPWC Act of 1973 permits
export or import of animals or animal parts only with its
permission.
"Our monkeys should not be allowed to be used as guinea
pigs," says Gopal Guragin, a journalist specialising in
wildlife. India had, in 1977, banned the export of rhesus
monkeys to be used in US military laboratories.
Meanwhile, the International Primate Protection League has
asked individuals to protest the plan. It has requested
Nepal not to build a monkey laboratory and not to export
monkeys. The league, on its website, has also requested
individuals and organisations to write letters to King
Gyanendra and the Nepali ambassador to the US requesting not
to move ahead with the plan.
From: Nepali Times, 6-12 June 2003
Monkey business
Hemlata Rai
Following the Indian ban on the export of rhesus monkeys for
use in bio-medical research, Western research labs now seem
to be eyeing Nepali monkeys.Two years ago the private
Natural History Society (NHS) in Kathmandu put forward a
proposal to provide monkeys to foreign labs, but dropped it
after conservation activists, particularly the King Mahendra
Trust for Nature Conservation created a furore. Mukesh
Chalise of NHS doesn't understand the fuss: “We are not
talking about selling our monkeys, we just want to provide
scientists with primates to conduct studies. It would
contribute to the whole of humanity.” This time, activists
allege, the Washington National Primate Centre (WNPC) and
its Nepali counterpart, NHS, have decided to come through
the back door. A group of US researchers led by Randall Kyes
of WNPC conducted a five-day ‘health camp' for rhesus on
Swayambhu Hill where 20 monkeys were said to have died from
a mysterious epidemic.But this was apparently done without
permission from the government's Department of National Park
and Wildlife Conservation. During that time, they collected
stool, blood and hair from more than 40 monkeys and flew
back to Washington , their activities still largely unknown.
“This is a case of bio-piracy,” says a source at WWF (World
Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation) Nepal Chapter. Our
email queries to Randall Kyes went unanswered. For over 30
years, the WNPC has been active in primate research
overseas. The centre maintains a breeding colony housing
over 1,000 monkeys in Indonesia and also works with the
Institute of Medical Primatology in Russia . At the American
Society of Primatologists annual conference held in June
last year, Randall Kyes is said to have expressed WNPC's
interest to establish a monkey-breeding centre in Nepal to
ensure the availability of non-human primates for
bio-medical research. Nepal does not have a law on the
export of laboratory animals, but a1973 law empowers the
government to fine or imprison up to two years anyone found
guilty of trying to “harm wild animals for any purpose”. The
chief of the Department of National Park, Swayambhu Man
Amatya, maintains that his office is not aware of any
activities conducted by WNPC in Kathmandu recently.
Meanwhile, the International Primate Protection League (IPPL)
has posted an appeal in its site www.ippl.org to protest
plans to exploit Nepali primates, and has also requested
Nepal not to allow monkey-breeding labs to be set up.India
banned the export of rhesus monkeys in 1977 on the grounds
that they are worshiped as the god, Hanuman. China is the
biggest exporter of monkeys for bio-medical research, while
the US is the biggest importer of primates with an annual
intake of about 14,000 primates.
From: Nepali Times, January 30, 2004
Year of the monkey
We could see the beginning of a new Nepali trade monkeys for
medical science.
By NARESH NEWAR
They're our closest neighbours in the chain of species.
Which is exactly why Rhesus monkeys are so highly valued in
bio-medical research. Except now there is a global shortage
of primates because many countries have imposed bans on
their export. Here in Nepal , monkeys share our streets,
neighbourhoods and temples and we're not party to any bans.
Little wonder then, that the world's largest primate
importers are wooing us.
Plans are already underway to set up a primate facility in
the country funded by the US federal government. The
Division of International Programs of the Washington
National Primate Research Center (WoNPRC), established in
1999, supports two long-standing international programs in
Indonesia and Russia . The third one was reportedly
established in Nepal in collaboration with Natural History
of Society of Nepal (NAHSON). Randall Kyes, head of
International Programs at the Washington National Primate
Research Centre, has already visited Nepal several times to
establish a primate program.
The Nepali face aligned to the American drive is monkey
specialist Mukesh Chalise. In 2001, he approached the King
Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) to start a
primate research centre and a clinical research laboratory
in microbiology in Nepal . His proposal received a strongly
worded response from the trustees: "The objectives of the
centre can be called a combined wishlist of zoo keepers,
epidemiologists, veterinarians, microbiologists,
primatologists and biomedical researchers using non-human
primates. The proposal is faulty.(and) ambitiously yields to
the international experts and their funds which it says will
bring sustainability. It is wrong".
Three years later, Chalise could be luckier. The Wildlife
Farming Act passed last year by the government allows anyone
to rear and breed certain wildlife. "He has to present a
detailed work plan and then only will we decide to what
extent the government will support him," says ecologist
Shyam Bajimaya from the Department of National Parks &
Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). They are waiting to receive
his proposal to start a breeding and research centre.
Conservationists are suspicious about the extent of the
government's support of Chalise. They are worried that he
may be allowed to export rhesus monkeys abroad to research
laboratories where scientists are willing to pay $5,000 -
10,000 for each monkey. The DNPWC has already agreed to
supply the monkeys from the national parks to Chalise for
breeding purposes at Rs 25,000 per monkey. He can begin
business with the second generation. "If there is surplus
population, there is no obstacle for him to export them,"
adds Bajimaya.
While this may be a simple issue for the government, animal
rights activists and conservationists are worried about the
cruelty involved in scientific research in US laboratories.
Some are asking for a national debate on the issue before
the government legalises export of any animals for research.
Noted biologist Pralad Yonzon is frustrated with the silence
of conservationists working in dozens of international
conservation organisations in Nepal . "If the
conservationists are not raising the issue then that is a
huge problem. We should never allow Nepal 's monkeys to be
used for bio medical research," says Yonzon who also runs
Resource Himalaya, a private independent regional
biodiversity organisation.
Until a few years ago, the Philippines and Indonesia used to
be two of the biggest exporters to the United States . But
both countries have now made the export of monkeys illegal.
One of the first countries to impose the ban was India in
1977, after pressure from the International Primate
Protection League (IPPL), begun by Shirley McGreal in 1973.
McGreal influenced the Indian ban by publicising gruesome
radiation experiments on monkeys, which are sacred to many
Hindus. There was a time when India exported more than
100,000 monkeys a year during the 1950s.
Indonesia introduced the ban nearly two years after 110
monkeys died en route from Inquatex, a Jakarta supplier, to
Worldwide Primates. This was followed by the Philippines ,
Bangladesh and Malaysia . But this crucial step had not been
easy with US pressure mounting on these countries. McGreal
says that the State Department threatened to cut off foreign
aid unless Bangladesh renewed monkey exports immediately.
"The US government and even the World Health Organisation
exerted pressure on India to reopen exports," said McGreal.
Nepal-based animal welfare activist Lucia de Vries says:
"The US, keen to conduct bioterrorism experiments on
primates, is desperate for lab monkeys, which is why they
turn to countries with weak legislation and a willingness to
sacrifice its precious wildlife, such as China, Vietnam,
Indonesia and, lately, Nepal." While exporting monkeys from
Nepal has not begun and may take a while, this is exactly
why many believe it is the right time for the government to
tackle this issue seriously. "There needs to be a debate
before the government takes another big step by letting the
monkeys be exported," says noted naturalist Tirtha Bahadur
Shrestha.
Primates continue to be essential to medical research,
especially to study AIDS. Scientists say that monkeys make
major contributions to the study of cancer, dental research
and malaria treatment as well. According to the US
Department of Agriculture, more than 49,000 monkeys and apes
were used in medical research in 2001. "If this is about
cruelty, then we should stop slaughtering animals and
killing vegetables for food too," says Chalise. "Common
species should be used for human welfare. There is no harm
in exporting monkeys."
From: Spotlight, Vol. 23, No. 31, February 20 -
26 2004
Monkey Business?
Wildlife activists have deplored the possibility of
exporting Nepalese monkeys for bio-medical tests abroad
By KESHAB POUDEL
A letter of intent signed between the Nepalese government
and a local NGO Natural History Society of Nepal (NHSN)
regarding the permission granted to the NHSN for breeding,
farming and conducting research on monkeys - Rhesus Macaques
- has sparked a new round of controversy.
Animal activists have expressed concerns that these monkeys
will land in the medical labs in the United States and
elsewhere for lethal medical tests and have demanded
immediate halt of the process.
Although this species of monkey is found everywhere in Nepal
with the population of over 40,000, there are concerns of
misusing them for medical experiment. Nepal also is home to
another species of monkeys called Assamese Monkeys, which
are enlisted under the protected list of Nepalese
government.
The government officials defend the agreement saying that it
is in accordance with the government's recent Working Policy
on Wildlife Farming, Breeding and Research 2003. According
to the policy, the government can permit farming of
endangered species and other common species for commercial
purposes.
Rhesus macaques have lived alongside human for centuries.
They are also found in the capital valley. They roam
extensively ranging from mountain to hills and southern
plains, competing and conflicting with human. Thanks to the
conflict with human being, more than 1,000 monkeys were
trapped and killed by farmers in mid-hills in the last one
year.
“You cannot justify exporting the monkeys in the ground that
they are destroying the crops. It is a well-accepted culture
of people who live alongside the monkeys. This is a century
old practice even in Valley where large number of monkeys
live in temples including that of Lord Pashupatinath and
Swayambhunath Stupa,” Dr. Prahlad Yonzon, president of
Resources Himalaya, an NGO working to promote the
conservation of wildlife. “We are concerned about the news
of breeding the monkeys for medical research.”
Rhesus macaques have become the primary target of biomedical
and behavioral research using primates because their
relative willingness to breed in captivity has made them the
monkey of choice for scientists. Once "harvested" from the
breeding corrals infants are typically moved to a "nursery"
and kept with another cage-mate. Often, monkeys caged in
these solitary situations develop self-injurious behaviors
such as self-biting, hair pulling, and repetitive motions.
“Our policy has to facilitate the commercial farming of
wildlife species like Ghariyal, crocodile, black buck, Danfe
Bird (Impyan Pheasant), Munal (Sapyrpragopan) and Cheer
Pheasant. Other wild life species include Barking deer,
Spotted Deer, Samber Deer, Hug Deer, Monkey, Snakes and all
kinds of birds are also included,” said Mohan Prasad Wagle,
spokesperson at the Ministry of Forest and Soil
Conservation.
After issuing the permission, the government will provide
seed animal to those firms. There are different price tags
for the revenue for seed animals ranging from US$ 80 for all
kinds of birds to Crocodile at US$ 500. The government set
per monkey price is US$ 300.
Animal rights activists express concerns that this decision
will open the way to export Nepalese monkeys to the United
States , Japan and Germany for medical research purposes.
“I am shocked by the fact that the new act on wildlife
farming is being misused to allow to breed and export
Nepalese monkeys for biomedical research. Nepal is rightly
proud of its successes in wildlife conservation but now a
different trend seems to be set: money first. The decision
comes at a time when research institutions increasingly find
alternatives to the use of non-human primates in research -
that is why a growing number of countries have banned this
kind of research. The US, keen to conduct bio-terrorism
experiments on primates, is desperate for lab monkeys, which
is why they turn to countries with weak legislation and a
willingness to sacrifice its precious wildlife, such as
China, Vietnam, Indonesia and, lately, Nepal,” said Lucia de
Vries, a Kathmandu-based Dutch journalist and animal welfare
campaigner. She is also involved with the Society for
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/Nepal.
Of all lab animals, primates suffer the most. Some primates
share 99 percent of their genes with humans. This is one of
the reasons why monkeys are considered special and sacred in
Nepal.
”It appears money is the only motivation for this decision.
Government department can earn up to Rs. 25,000 (US$ 300)
per monkey, while the second-generation primates can be sold
for US$ 50 to 100 to American labs. We should not allow
Nepalese monkeys to die a painful, slow death in American
labs, just for the sake of enriching a few,” said Lucia.
Others hold different views. “This is just a propaganda of
certain vested interest groups on our well-intentioned
proposal. We applied to the ministry in accordance with the
rules and regulations of the government of Nepal . We will
strictly follow the government guidance in course of our
research,” said Dr. Mukesh Chalise expert of Natural History
Society of Nepal (NHNS). “Our intention is not to send our
monkeys for death but to use them for human benefits.”
Following vehement criticism from different environmental
and animal rights group, the government had cancelled a
similar proposal two years ago from similar organization.
“This is not for conservation effort to benefit local
community or bio-diversity. This kind of breeding is purely
with purpose of bio-medical research where our monkeys has
to go through an enormous level of painful suffering as they
have to show physical and psychological response to the
untested drugs,” said Dr. Prahlad Yonzon.
“There is clear guideline for the breeding and it is in
accordance to in situ,” said a senior official at the
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
According to the letter of intent, the government will
deliver 150 monkeys as soon as NNHS establishes basic
infrastructures to farm monkeys. Along with monkey, the
government has already permitted another NGO for commercial
farming of snake.
Monkey is widely worshiped by Hindus as a faithful of lord
Ram Chandra. Along with Hindus, Nepal 's large number of
mountain people, who recently celebrated their new year
Lhosar, have declared this year as being the Year of Monkey.
At a time when local animal rights groups have started to
raise the question, International Primate Protection League
(IPPL) has posted an appeal in its site (www.ippl.org) to
protest plans to exploit Nepali primates, and has also
requested Nepalese government not to allow monkey-breeding
labs to be set up. “We have already received more than 300
petitions from around the world and we will hand it over to
Nepalese prime minister and Minister for Forest and Soil
Conservation,” said Lucia, who is mobilizing the animal
rights groups in the country and abroad.
India banned the export of rhesus monkeys in 1977 on the
grounds that they are worshiped as the god, Hanuman. China
is the biggest exporter of monkeys for bio-medical research,
while the US is the biggest importer of primates with an
annual intake of about 14,000 primates.
IPPL has fought the cruel international traffic in wild
primates for 30 years. The IPPL reveals that this trade has
increased greatly in recent years. In 1995, 9158 primates
were imported to the United States ; in 2002, 18856 monkeys
were imported, an increase of 106 percent. Crab-eating
macaques from Asia are by far the most heavily traded
monkeys, followed by rhesus macaques and squirrel monkeys.
“The Division of International Programs of the Washington
National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) was established in
1999 to help direct, strengthen, and expand the Center's
international collaborations. The WaNPRC currently supports
two long-standing international programs in Indonesia and
Russia and a third recently established program in Nepal ,”
said Lucia.
Its Nepal Program was formally established in 2001 in
collaboration with the Natural History Society of Nepal (NHSN)
in Kathmandu . This program will support the breeding of SRV-free
rhesus macaques and facilitate collaborative research and
educational/training opportunities for Nepalese students and
researchers, and assist with primate conservation efforts in
Nepal including a population survey of Nepal 's endangered
Assamese macaque.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2004/2004-05-18-04.asp
Nepal Authorizes Wildlife Farming for
Conservation
By Deepak Gajurel
KATHMANDU, Nepal , May 18, 2004 (ENS) - Wildlife farming
might sound like a contradiction in terms, but it is the
government of Nepal 's new strategy for conserving animal
species. New avenues have been opened for farming, breeding
and research of high value wild species under the
government's new Wildlife Farming, Reproduction and Research
Policy.
The government started providing licenses for wildlife
farming immediately after promulgating the policy. Since the
parliament is dissolved and the country is reeling under
political uncertainty, the only option to establish a law to
this effect is by ordinance. After six months of issuing
licenses, the government is now working to write proper
legislation.
"Since we do not have parliament, an Act for this purpose
will be brought through ordinance," said Narayan Sharma of
the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. "The
ordinance is currently being given a final touch," he said.
Meanwhile, to facilitate and encourage researchers and
conservationists to undertake wildlife farming, the
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC)
has already granted licenses for farming and research of
rhesus monkeys, snakes and vultures. The DNPWC is a
government agency, under the Ministry of Forests and Soil
Conservation, which looks after protected areas and wild
species of plants and animals.
The protected species that are permitted for farming under
the new policy include the gharial crocodile, Gavialis
gangeticus ; the black buck, Antilope cervicapra ; Nepal 's
national bird the Impeyan pheasant, Lophophorus impejanus ;
the crimson horned pheasant, Tragopan satyra ; and the cheer
pheasant, Catreus wallichii .
Other species on the list for wildlife farming permits
include the barking deer, spotted deer, sambar, rhesus
monkey, hog deer, wild boar, snakes and all bird species.
Under the new policy, the DNPWC would provide seed animals
for farming and breeding. The permission fee ranges from
5,000 to 40,000 Nepali rupees (US$69 to $555) per animal
depending on the species.
The government's decision on wildlife farming, reproduction
and research policy is in conformity with the Tenth National
Plan, which mentions farming high value wild animals and
birds.
The Tenth Plan - a five year plan ending in April 2006 -
specifically points out the need to improve the livelihoods
of women, the poor, and disadvantaged groups by conserving
biological diversity through farming of high value wildlife,
and promoting involvement of individuals, groups,
nongovernmental organizations and institutions in wildlife
farming, reproduction and research.
The policy sets criteria that the applicants for wildlife
farming must meet before obtaining licenses such as basic
infrastructure, management and technical qualifications and
expertise.
Wildlife experts have welcomed the new initiative. "The
wildlife farming and research policy will help conserve wild
animals. This will also promote various types of researches
for the benefit of human being," says Dr. Sanat Dhungel, a
former DNPWC director general.
Another former director general of the department, Dr. Udaya
Raj Sharma, has a mixed reaction. "We should use our natural
resources for the benefit of our people. The wildlife
farming policy is a positive initiative in terms of
conservation aspects," Sharma says, but he cautions, "An
effective monitoring mechanism should be in place, otherwise
this policy would promote illegal trade in wildlife."
Monitoring and evaluation are the key to success of the
policy, which stipulates that a regular and effective
monitoring mechanism is essential to ensure that there is no
illegal activity under cover.
"The DNPWC will monitor the farmers and the animals every
six months." says Surya Bahadur Pandey, who serves as an
ecologist and management officer with the agency.
"The policy represents sustainable use of natural resources,
as many countries are doing around the world," says Dr.
Randall Kyes, head of International Programs in the Regional
Primate Research Center at University of Washington . The
University of Washington is planning to collaborate with
Nepali experts in research on monkeys.
On a research trip to Nepal , Dr. Kyes told ENS, "There
should be a proper and effective mechanism so that there is
no negative impact on natural populations."
Primatologist Dr. Mukesh Chalise, who is president of the
Nepal Biodiversity Conservation Society and is a professor
at Tribhuwan University , has obtained a license for farming
and conducting research on rhesus monkeys. He has started
working on plans to establish infrastructures for research
on this wild species.
"First, we are going to breed the monkeys in captivity,"
said Chalise. "We will start research on monkeys of first
generation (F1 generation) at our research facility."
The research will be conducted with the monkeys bred in
captivity. The Wildlife Farming, Reproduction and Research
Policy prohibits the use in any type of research of any wild
species provided by the government as seed animals.
"This is a good initiative for biomedical research and any
genetic discoveries or findings can be claimed by Nepal .
This will eventually benefit Nepali people," says Dr. Kyes.
There are others who find problems with the wildlife farming
policy. "The government is working under policy. We still do
not have any legislation for this," says legal expert Dr.
Rabi Sharma Aryal, who wrote his doctoral thesis on
implementation of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species in South Asia.
"Going ahead with just a policy in hand might make the whole
endeavor in vain. First we have to have proper legal
framework," said Aryal.
Though there is no controversy over snakes and vultures,
licenses granted for farming and research of rhesus monkey
has drawn protests, some on the ground of cruelty to the
animals and others on religious grounds.
Animals rights activists are campaigning to stop research on
monkeys. They allege that under the cover of research and
farming, Nepali monkeys will be supplied to laboratories in
the United States for biomedical research.
According to some activists, the United States requires over
14,000 monkeys for research annually.
A petition has been filed with the Ministry of Forests and
Soil Conservation demanding a halt to providing monkeys for
research. The petition, supported by the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Nepal; the International
Primate Protection League; and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, states that "Nepal will not deserve
credit for providing monkeys for biomedical research by
maintaining outdated, unreliable, and unethical methods for
conducting studies."
According to the campaigners, the policy on wildlife farming
should not facilitate breeding and export for biomedical
research of monkeys, or any other animal.
"This is just propaganda by certain vested interests. Our
intention is not to send our monkeys to death but to use
them for human benefits," contends Dr. Chalise.
The government officials do not care about the campaigns.
They do not see anything serious in such campaigns. "We are
still working on the proper legal framework. In addition,
the policy does not allow export or commercial use of any
wild species," says conservation officer Surya Bahadur
Pandey at Department of National Parks and Wildlife
Conservation.
Dr. Dhungel goes further in agreement with the government
move. "We should allow farming and research on any wild
species including one horn rhinos if it benefits the people
and the nation. Our natural resources are not for the sake
of protection. We should make sustainable use of them for
the welfare of human beings," Dhungel argues.
The population of rhesus monkeys in Nepal is abundant,
according to Dr. Chalise. They are not on the government's
protected list but are found in jungles and also in temple
areas, including those in Kathmandu .