Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 9.3. Evidence of chewing by long-tailed macaques on immature
endemic fruits.
The way the local population looked at long-tailed macaques underwent a
major change in 1985 with the establishment of Bioculture (Mauritius) Ltd
(BCM), a local private company involved in the capture, breeding and export of
long-tailed macaque for biomedical research in Europe and USA. The idea of
using the Mauritian macaque population for research had already been evoked
in 1983 (Kavanagh,
1983
), two years before Bioculture (Mauritius) Ltd estab-
lished itself. Conditions established by the government for the exploitation of
this natural resource were very clear - export would be allowed only to compan-
ies involved in biomedical research, not military or space research. In addition
the company was expected to abide by existing international norms regarding
general animal welfare. Bioculture (Mauritius) Ltd signed agreements with pri-
vate land owners, lease-land holders and large/small planters to trap monkeys
on their land with a payment paid to the owner for every animal caught. Many
people decided that instead of being just a pest, the monkey was suddenly turn-
ing into a resource, with the result that most people stopped shooting monkeys
as game, but preferred rather, to allow BCM to come and trap them, thus earning
