LOPBURI – On Monday, more than 10 officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation conducted an attempt to capture monkeys in Lopburi town, particularly near Phra Prang Sam Yod and the old Malai Rama Cinema.
This was in response to the recent situation where some monkeys displayed aggressive behavior, took away food from local residents and caused several injuries. The operation was aimed at going from March 25 to 27, 2024, for a total of three days, with a goal of 50 monkeys.
Officials lured the monkeys with food to areas where they had previously been aggressive, such as the spot where a monkey snatched a woman’s bag of groceries on 6 March, causing her to fall and injure herself, and another spot on Ratchadamnoen Road opposite the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) where a monkey jumped on a car on 23 March, causing an accident.
After setting up the cage for a short time and using raw corn as bait, the officials captured the first five monkeys. They were all thin and seemed unafraid of the officers or the reporters. The officials will take all the captured monkeys to the Wildlife Rescue Center in Nakhon Nayok province for care and rehabilitation while they wait for the monkey park in Lopburi to be 100 percent completed.
Kittipong Liewpairoj, 39, a local resident and owner of the video footage showing the monkey snatching a woman’s bag of groceries, thanked officials from the relevant authorities for coming to address the situation. He said this is a good sign and he wants them to be consistent in their work.
“I don’t want them to just flaunt it like they have been doing for the past 10 years, which has resulted in more than half of the residents and shopkeepers moving away from the monkeys. I still love Lopburi and the monkeys, but I want to live happily with them and restore the well-being of the people of Lopburi,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Wildlife Compensation Fund Committee approved on March 23, 2024 the application of the criteria and methods to support and compensate wildlife-affected people, including monkey-affected people, in addition to elephants, bears and cucumbers.
Atthaphon Charoenchansa, Director General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, announced the criteria for assistance and compensation to persons who have suffered loss of life, injury or disability. The details and compensation rates for those affected by wildlife are as follows:
1. In case of injury
(1) Disability, paralysis: Receive 100,000 baht. Loss of an arm, leg, or eyesight (blindness) in both eyes, or an arm, leg, and eyesight (blindness) in two places: Receive 100,000 baht. Loss of an arm, leg, or eyesight (blindness) in one eye: Receive 50,000 baht.
(2) General injuries: Receive the actual cost of treatment, up to 30,000 baht
(3) Loss of earnings during hospitalization: Up to 180 days from the date of the injury, as certified by a doctor: Receive up to 300 baht per day
2. In case of death
(1) Compensation: 100,000 baht
Those who have been injured or killed by monkeys or other wild animals can contact the local administrative office of the protected area and apply for compensation according to the prescribed criteria.
_____
Related articles:
