I AM ONE of the many who must surely sympathise with Godfrey Hinds whose plight you highlighted in the edition of August 17.
Thousands of small and large producers of fruit and vegetables will be able to relate to the frustration, powerlessness and sense of abandonment that he feels as a result of seeing all his hard work go towards feeding a troop of monkeys.
In the 1980s a very successful culling programme was carried out by the Primate Research Centre, which I believe has morphed into the Grenade Hall Barbados Wildlife Reserve. Monkeys were humanely trapped, processed and exported for medical research purposes.
This project ran into trouble and was discontinued, allowing the monkey population to explode and spread into areas previously not frequented by them, as well as becoming pests in areas where their previously limited numbers had not caused major problems.
This is an introduced species with no natural predators (not even man), whose numbers basically depend on available food supply.
Since Independence Bajans have been encouraged to plant fruit trees and “grow what we eat” (may God bless Carmeta Fraser), and many have taken up the challenge for personal, social and economic reasons. A perfect scenario for a monkey population explosion.
Anyone who doubts this dramatic increase in numbers has only to contact any rural dweller and ask them to estimate the number of monkeys in their area (the Government Statistical Department could assist here), and I feel sure that they would be surprised at the responses.
The only other Caribbean island, to my knowledge, similarly afflicted with the African Green Monkey is St Kitts, and I would have to say that a visit there a few years ago suggested that to all intents and purposes, Kittitians have given up on agriculture altogether, and the very attractive railway system that used to carry canes to the sugar factory is now nothing more than a tourist attraction. As apparently are the monkeys, which interact fearlessly with tourists at their hotels, helping themselves to their drinks, food and responding with aggression when they are shooed away.
As a small fruit and vegetable grower myself, I have been pulling out what few hairs I have left as monkeys bite and discard produce that is nearly ripe, making it useless. They eat or sample everything from avocadoes to star apples, and everything in between.
We have tried all sorts of “techniques” to protect our crops but they get around everything. They cannot be poisoned, and have little fear of dogs or humans once they can reach trees.
The reasons for trying to mitigate this menace are so obvious as to not need repeating. The benefits to be derived by the human population from a serious and systematic culling programme are obvious.
If we have an Animal Control Unit that can control the population of stray dogs, why can’t the same be done for the out-of-control monkey population? They can be humanely trapped and euthanised as is done with dogs and other animals when the need arises. There is no need for horror stories.
I feel certain that an overseas lending agency would fund a well-thought-out and implemented project because the social and economic benefits are so obvious.
– FRANK MORRIS
