A government minister said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka is exploring a request by a Chinese private enterprise to transport 100,000 endemic monkeys to China, which sparked objections from animal rights organizations.
According to Cabinet Spokesperson and Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana, the island’s agriculture minister has formed a committee to assess the plan to export 100,000 toque macaques, which are only found in Sri Lanka, to be kept in zoos in China.
At a weekly press conference, Gunawardana said, “This is not a debate between the Sri Lankan government and the Chinese government, but with a Chinese corporation. “The proposal will be assessed by the committee.”
Environmentalists and conservationists have notified the monkeys about the action, which has disturbed them.
