Gibraltar to kill "molesting" monkeys

Dominique Searle, Yahoo News 15 Apr 08;

A pack of at least 25 of Gibraltar's famous monkeys are being killed because they are threatening human health in one of The Rock's popular tourism areas, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Two of the monkeys -- a national symbol for the British colony at the foot of Spain -- have already been given a lethal injection, said Gibraltar's Tourist Minister Ernest Britto who issued the license for their culling.

"The decision was not taken lightly," he said. "It is a last resort."

Gibraltar's residents have long lived alongside the monkeys or macaques, but Britto said the behavior of one pack had got out-of-hand in Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay, two popular tourist areas on The Rock.

"Children are frightened, people cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing, apes can bite and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis," said Britto.

Last month, Britto told Gibraltar's parliament that once the cull of 25 macaques is completed the overall monkey population would be set at around 200.

The cull will take time since the monkeys must be lured into cages and then sedated before killing, he said.

Gibraltar has been running a birth control problem to control the monkey population for about six years but the programme is taking time to work.

Franco Ostuni, general manager of the Caleta Hotel, said guests rooms have been vandalized by monkeys scrounging for extra food.

"What has to stop is the damage that apes are doing to Gibraltar, private properties and individuals without anyone taking responsibility for it," he said.

However, the International Primate Protection League said it was considering calling on tourists to boycott Gibraltar if the local government did not stop the cull.

"It is clear that the Government of Gibraltar is still not managing their population of macaques in a responsible manner, despite the fact that they undoubtedly boost the nation's economy as arguably their most popular tourist attraction," said Helen Thirlway, head of IPPL in the UK.

Gibraltar to cull Barbary apes that terrorise tourists
Fiona Govan, The Telegraph 16 Apr 08;

Gibraltar's iconic monkeys are facing a cull after terrorising tourists on the British colony.

A pack of 25 of the Barbary macaques have “run riot” on a beach, have broken into hotel rooms and have been caught scavenging in bins in the town centre.

The threat of attacks on humans and the possibility of the spread of disease has forced authorities to approve the cull “as a last resort”.

Ernest Britto, Gibraltar’s tourist minister, defended the plans for the cull, saying: “Children are frightened. People cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing. “Apes can bite, and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis.”

Vets are to track down the tearaways and put them down by lethal injection. Two have already been killed.

The Gibraltar population of the Barbary macaque – a monkey commonly referred to as the Barbary ape because of its stubby tail – numbers more than 200.

They attract hundreds of tourists every day to the areas around Apes Den and the Siege Tunnels at the top of the Rock.

Francis Cantos, the spokesman for the Government of Gibraltar, insisted: “This is being done as a last resort.

“The apes we are targeting are part of a breakaway group that are going into town and making a nuisance as well as posing health hazards.

“They’ve been spotted going through rubbish, vandalising property and stealing from people. They ran riot at the beach at Catalan Bay.”

The cull has the backing of many locals including staff at Gibraltar’s Caleta Hotel, where guests’ rooms were vandalised recently by apes looking for food.

However, the decision to destroy the rogue pack has been condemned by animal protection groups.

Helen Thirlway, the conservation and welfare director for the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) in the UK, said the monkeys were the colony’s most popular tourist attraction and the “needless slaughter has to stop”.

British soldiers are thought to have introduced the apes, natives of north Africa, into Gibraltar in the mid-18th century to use for shooting practice.

Local folklore has it that the colony would cease to be British if the monkeys were to leave.

Winston Churchill took it seriously enough to ship extra monkey from north Africa to Gibraltar during the Second World War.

Gibraltar To Cull Some Of Its Monkeys
Dominique Searle, PlanetArk 16 Apr 08;

GIBRALTAR - A pack of at least 25 of Gibraltar's famous monkeys are being culled because they are a nuisance and a threat to health in some of the Rock's tourist areas.


Two of the monkeys, a national symbol for the British colony at the foot of Spain, have already been given lethal injections, Gibraltar Tourist Minister Ernest Britto said on Tuesday.

He said the decision had been "a last resort".

Gibraltar's residents have long lived alongside the macaque monkeys, but Britto said the behaviour of one pack had got out of hand in the tourist areas of Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay:

"Children are frightened. People cannot leave their windows open for fear of the monkeys stealing. Apes can bite, and contact with them runs the risk of salmonella or hepatitis."

Last month, he told Gibraltar's parliament that, once the cull of 25 macaques was completed, the overall monkey population would be set at around 200.

Gibraltar has been running a birth control programme to control the monkey population for about six years but it is taking time to work.

Franco Ostuni, general manager of the Caleta Hotel, said guests rooms had been vandalised by monkeys scrounging for food.

"What has to stop is the damage that apes are doing to Gibraltar -- private properties and individuals -- without anyone taking responsibility for it," he said.

However, the International Primate Protection League said it was considering calling on tourists to boycott Gibraltar if it did not stop the cull.

(Reporting by Dominique Searle; writing by Sarah Morris; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Rights groups going ape over Gibraltar's licence to cull
Yahoo News 16 Apr 08;

Animal rights groups have expressed outrage over a plan by Gibraltar's government to cull its famous Barbary Apes, which are posing a hazard as they roam the town in search of food.

The government of the tiny British territory off Spain's southern coast plans to cull 25 of the simians, whose population has exploded to around 200.

The mischievous primates climb over cars and pull out antennas, open rubbish bags and rifle through handbags left unattended in the popular tourist destination.

Officially, the management of the apes is the responsibility of the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS), on contract from the government. But the society said it has not approved the cull.

"Our policy is that culling can be a population management solution but only in extreme cases when there is no other more suitable option," GONHS general secretary Dr. John Cortes said on Tuesday.

"We would only ever recommend a cull after very careful assessment of the situation from a veterinary and a genetic point of view."

However, Environment Minister Ernest Britto said a licence has been issued for the cull and two of the apes have already been given lethal injections.

Helen Thirlway, the head of Britain's International Primate Protection League, said the government was failing to manage the apes "in a responsible manner."

"There have been many advances and pilot studies in recent years on different methods of controlling free-roaming monkeys," she was quoted as saying in the local media Wednesday.

"We are more than happy to work with the government of Gibraltar and with GONHS to help them develop more efficient, alternative solutions, but this needless slaughter has to stop."

According to legend, if the apes disappear, Britain will lose control of Gibraltar.

When wartime British prime minister Winston Churchill heard their population was low, British consuls in North Africa -- from where the apes originally came -- were tasked with sending new young simians to the Rock.

At one time, the apes were looked after by the British army stationed in Gibraltar, which selected a place up the Rock where they were fed daily to keep them from loitering downtown.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, but has retained a constitutional claim should Britain renounce sovereignty.

The vast majority of the 30,000 people want to retain their links with Britain.