Amid protests from conservationists, Sri Lanka on Thursday clarified that it is unlikely to send 100,000 monkeys in one go to China.
According to a top Sri Lankan bureaucrat Gunadasa Samarasinghe the Chinese company's request was being considered as these monkeys were causing a lot of damage to crops.
"We will not send the whole 100,000 in one lot. But we considered the request due to crop damages caused by the monkeys in several parts of the country. They will not be taken from conserved areas. The focus will be only in the cultivation areas", Samarasinghe told reporters in the national capital Colombo.
Earlier in the day, the island nation confirmed that China made a formal request to import 100,000 toque macaque monkeys. The cash-strapped nation's Ministry of Agriculture revealed a private firm that is in the business of running Zoological Gardens in China, proposed to purchase the monkeys.
China's request to import 100,000 monkeys has raised eyebrows in Sri Lanka with environmental groups protesting against the deal as they fear the animals would be used in lab experiments.
China's request to import 100,000 monkeys has raised eyebrows in Sri Lanka with environmental groups protesting against the deal as they fear the animals would be used in lab experiments.
Beijing Calls Out 'Disinformation" Campaign on Monkeys
China has vehemently denied that the monkeys are being imported for experimental purposes and even called out the media's "disinformation" campaign regarding the matter.
Last week, Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera backed China's request to procure 100,000 monkeys from Colombo as these would be shifted to a thousand Chinese zoos for exhibition purposes.
"They want these monkeys for their zoos," the minister said.
Almost all exports of live animals are banned in Sri Lanka, but the Chinese company's proposal comes at a time when the South Asian country is in the midst of its worst economic crisis.
Last year in April, Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt of $51 billion, leading to political turmoil in the island nation. In March 2023, the crisis-stricken country secured a $3 billion financial bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).