The government of Sint Maarten has given conservationists permission to eradicate an invasive monkey species from the wild. The Caribbean island, which belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has a lot of trouble with the monkeys and wants to get rid of them.
This is the vervet, also known as the South African green meerkat or blue monkey. The monkey is mainly found in Africa, but has made the transition to the Caribbean thanks to humans.
There are at least 450 of these monkeys on Sint Maarten, but that is an estimate from 2020. According to the government, the number of monkeys has increased since then. The monkeys must all disappear from the wild within three years, if it is up to the government.
A government policy officer informs NU.nl that a complete eradication may not be necessary. “The most important thing is that the nuisance from the monkeys stops. That will be investigated annually.” If that doesn’t work, the monkeys will still be completely exterminated.
The monkeys feed on agricultural crops and are a nuisance to farms and other agricultural locations. They also regularly steal edible fruit from people’s orchards and gardens. Sometimes they even enter houses to look for food.
Wat zijn invasieve soorten?
- Invasieve diersoorten zijn dieren die van buitenaf een ecosysteem binnendringen en verstoren.
- Soms gebeurt dat op een natuurlijke manier, maar vaak is de mens (onbewust) verantwoordelijk voor de introductie van een nieuwe soort in een gebied.
- De nieuwe soort heeft vaak niet te maken met natuurlijke roofdieren of andere vijanden in het ecosysteem.
- Daardoor kan hun aantal in korte tijd explosief toenemen.
Plan does not go well everywhere
“Controlling the population of animal species is important for the survival of nature on our island,” said Leslie Hickerson of the Nature Foundation. That nature organization will deal with the monkeys.
The monkeys will be caught first. Then vets give them a lethal injection. This approach does not sit well with all nature organisations.
Opponents claim that making the monkeys sterile is a better and, above all, more humane way to control the monkey population.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the monkeys would be shot. This is incorrect, they are first caught and then given a lethal injection.
