Nepal’s Rhesus Monkeys Still in Danger

December 2006

The September 2006 issue of IPPL News informed readers about ongoing plans by two U.S. government-funded research labs (the Washington National Primate Center, in Seattle, Washington, and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, in San Antonio, Texas) to establish primate centers in Nepal that would utilize rhesus monkeys removed from the wild for breeding and export for experimentation. We requested readers to send protest letters to three senior Nepalese wildlife officials.

The Nepal-based groups Animal Nepal and Wildlife Watch Group also organized an international petition drive and letter-writing campaign opposing the projects. They sent press releases to the Nepalese media. Several newspapers carried the story.

Two U.S. labs want Nepal's monkeys

Randall Kyes of the Washington National Primate Center has been collaborating for several years with Dr. Mukesh Chalise, formerly an official of the Nepal Natural History Society. Chalise spoke at the 2002 conference of the U.S. Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources in Washington, DC. In his talk, Chalise stated that he favored both the local use of monkeys in Nepal and the export of live primates. He claimed that Nepal had no rules governing the farming and breeding of monkeys and told the audience, primarily composed of experimenters, of his plans to establish a primate facility in the Kathmandu Valley. Work on this project is ongoing, but because the Washington Primate Center is involved with several overseas projects in Indonesia and Russia, it is difficult to establish how much U.S. taxpayers' money this project has received.

The Southwest Foundation has received funding (Grant Number 5P40RR018825-02 from the U.S. National Institutes of Health) for work to be conducted from 29 September 2004 to 31 August 2009. The title of the project is “Rhesus Breeding Colony in Nepal and Importation to USA.” According to the project abstract, “There are no restrictions against export of these animals from Nepal.” However, Nepal is a member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, on Appendix II of which rhesus monkeys are listed among those species potentially threatened by trade. Nepal’s rhesus monkeys are therefore protected from trade unless Nepal wildlife authorities make a scientific finding that export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species. Such a finding cannot be made for rhesus monkeys in a country like Nepal, which has been plagued by civil strife for many years. According to an article published in the scientific journal Primates last year, wild rhesus census data collected as far back as 1976 – 1984 implies that conservation efforts on behalf of these monkey populations are urgently needed. Nevertheless, for fiscal year 2004, Southwest received $684,040 for its work in Nepal; for fiscal year 2005, it received $704,010; and for fiscal year 2006, it received $673,756.

IPPL and Nepalese allies cooperate to protect monkeys

IPPL, Wildlife Watch Group, and Animal Nepal strongly oppose both projects. The breeding centers would promote the removal from the wild of animals that have lived in their remote mountainous homeland for thousands of years, protected by the religious and cultural traditions of the nation's main religions, Hinduism and Buddhism.

In the September issue of IPPL News, readers were asked to contact three senior Nepalese wildlife officials, as well as the Nepalese embassies in their home countries, to request that Nepal continue its policy of protecting rhesus monkeys. We are very sad to report that all three wildlife officials identified in our article lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash in the Eastern Himalayan mountains on 23 September 2006. The crash took the lives of 24 people, including Dr. Gopal Rai, State Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation, other wildlife officials, and local and international conservationists. IPPL extends its condolences to all the bereaved families.

Nonetheless, Wildlife Watch Group, Animal Nepal, and other local organizations are continuing their campaign to keep rhesus monkeys in the wild where they belong. On 21 October 2006, the Himalayan Times carried a story about the international monkey trade:

With slack legal provisions and loopholes, Nepal can become the next target for those willing to import monkeys of different types to the US for conducting biomedical researches, fears a conservationist. The United States alone imports over 26,000 monkeys of different types from all over the world for conducting biomedical researches, the International Primate Protection League (IPPL), a US-based primate conservation body states in a report...

Mangal Man Shakya, chairman of the Wildlife Watch Group, says, "The trend of importing monkeys is dangerous for countries like Nepal. Monkeys can easily be exported illegally, as Nepal has been infamous in the world for illegal wildlife trade." Noting that India had banned such exports, Shakya fears Nepal could be a new target for US researchers. "Strong lobbying is necessary to prevent Nepal from becoming the target of US researchers," he says.

How You Can Help Nepal’s Monkeys

Please send a letter to the officials whose addresses are listed below, requesting that Nepal continue its centuries-long tradition of protecting its free-living rhesus monkeys. Ask that Nepal not establish any biomedical breeding and research facilities funded by the U.S. or any other government. Request that Nepal not export monkeys at a time when there is an increased demand for monkeys to be used in painful and lethal experimentation regarding biological warfare and other infectious disease agents. Postage from the U.S. to Nepal costs 84 cents per ounce; from the U.K. it costs 50 p for a letter under 10 grams.

Mr. K. P. Sharma Oli
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sheetal Niwas, Kathmandu NEPAL
Phone: 977-1-4416011 / 4416012
Fax: 977-1-4416016 / 4419044
E-mail: adm@mofa.gov.np

Mr. Dilendra Prasad Badu
State Minister
Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation
Singh Darbar, Kathmandu NEPAL
Phone: +977-1-4220160
Fax: +977-1-4223868
E-mail: mfsc@mail.com.np

Mr. Dibya Deo Bhatta
Director General
Department of Forests
Babar Mahal, Kathmandu NEPAL
Phone: + 977-1-4227574
Fax: +977-1-4227374
E-mail: dof@col.com.np