Public hearings for the plan to release wild monkeys from various provinces that are overcrowded with monkeys to these small islands will be held later this month. “Surveys show there are five islets in Phuket that should be able to serve as monkey colonies. The plan to develop monkey colonies has emerged because of the serious overcrowding of macaques in 12 provinces. While agreeing that the monkey overcrowding issue must be managed appropriately, marine biologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat said he did not support solutions that could create other problems for the national parks’ island ecosystem. Some NLA members had discussed the issue with him and assured him that the “monkey island” solution wouldn’t include islands within national parks, he said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 16, 2018 21:00 UTC