Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
island colonies have been considered for confiscated pet macaques and other
“surplus” animals in places like Singapore and Indonesia. The motivation
behind the establishment of these islands has been both practical and humani-
tarian. The appeal of this approach is readily appreciated: the animals are
winsome, their “advocates” often fervent and well-meaning. However, this
approach to the issue of unwanted animals is problematic for several reasons.
First, investing in “macaque islands” may divert attention and resources from
the issues that produced the unwanted macaques in the first place. Rather
than “saving” individual macaques, resources, including charitable funding,
might more effectively be used to promote sustainable population-level rela-
tionships between humans and macaques at existing interfaces. For example,
resources are required for more rigorous enforcement of laws against trapping
and/or trading primates. A related concern is that establishing special islands
for the release of macaques removed from human-macaque conflict zones
might create the perspective in local communities that macaques belong on
these types of islands and nowhere else. This perception might erode support
for investments in long-term coexistence and conservation of synanthropic
macaques. There is even concern that relocation could actually create a justi-
fication to exterminate populations of synanthropic macaques.
The “monkey islands” themselves present concerning challenges. Merely
relocating macaques away from areas of conflict does not ensure that the
macaques' new situation is desirable or adequate. In some instances, “res-
cued” macaques have been housed in inadequate cages, where quality of life is
debatable, negating the ethical justification for relocation. Additionally, releas-
ing macaques to range freely on islands raises other questions. Depending on
how animals are selected for release, abnormal age-sex ratios are likely to
result, leading to skewed social functioning in the groups. Provisioned with
food, population growth may lead to overcrowding and the need to expend
resources to manage these populations. The impact of relocated macaque pop-
ulations on island environments is another potentially significant problem.
There is concern that these islands might essentially become poorly funded
monkey zoos, reliant on governmental and NGO support. These resources
might be better employed in developing sustainable human-macaque ecosys-
tems at the existing interface.
Managing introduced populations
Dealing with ethnophoresy, the introduction of long-tailed macaques to new
locations, is a very important aspect of managing them. The management
strategies outlined above also apply to introduced populations, with a crucial
