Yunlin farmers battle to beat destructive macaquesBy Huang Shu-li and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerFarmers in Yunlin County “fed up” with damage wrought by Formosan rock macaques have so far this year applied for seven times more subsidies than last year to install electric fences, the county’s Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The macaques have affected agriculture around the county, but nowhere more so than in Gukeng Township (古坑), where not one fruit orchard or vegetable patch has been able to escape damage, local farmers said. As there is no compensation available for losses caused by macaques, the issue has left the nation’s farmers struggling to find a solution. Formosan rock macaques sit on the roof of a farm building in Yunlin County on Sunday. Another farmer in a mountainous region said that their entire taro field was dug up by the animals, while others said that their harvests only consist of the macaques’ leftovers.

Source: Taipei Times October 05, 2020 15:56 UTC