Heavy fines a bid to stop feeding of monkeys

If they get used to being fed, they may attack humans if denied food
Teo Wan Gek , Kimberley Lim, Straits Times 17 May 09;

Monkey see, monkey do. And wild monkeys that keep getting snacks from park-goers eventually stop looking for food in the jungle.

Then they turn aggressive, snatching food from humans and invading the kitchens of homes near their habitat.

The authorities have decided to put an end to this monkey business.

On Tuesday, a housewife was fined $3,000 for feeding sweets to monkeys at a Mandai nature reserve.

She could have been fined up to $50,000 and/or jailed up to six months under the Parks and Trees Act.

Some Singaporeans who read about the case were surprised at the penalties, but the National Parks Board (NParks) explained its strict regulations prohibiting monkey feeding.

Monkeys are commonly seen at the Upper Seletar and Lower Peirce reservoir parks. The monkeys are now a nuisance, even to park visitors who do not feed them.

Ms Sharon Chan, assistant director of the Central Nature Reserve, said: 'Left on their own, monkeys have sufficient food in the forest.

'Feeding monkeys alters their natural behaviour, making them too familiar with humans. When subsequently denied food from humans, human-monkey conflict inevitably ensues.'

NParks' many measures to deter people from feeding the monkeys include signs, monkey-proof bins that prevent monkeys from retrieving food, and patrols by security companies such as Cisco.

TV cameras have also been installed along Old Upper Thomson Road.

Of the 20 park-goers The Sunday Times spoke to, 15 were surprised when told about the size of the fine for feeding monkeys.

Mr Jim Lee, 48, a personal trainer, said: 'The fine is good. The serenity of the park is disturbed when people feed the monkeys. I have seen them snatch food away from picnic-goers in MacRitchie. But I didn't know the maximum went up so high.'

Mr Jameson Chin, 23, who is unemployed, felt it is only the repeat offender who deserves a heavy fine: 'If the person has been caught many times, then a $3,000 fine is fair.'

In January last year, a man was initially fined $4,000 for feeding monkeys, but this was reduced to $1,000 on appeal.

To date this year, 31 people have been fined for feeding monkeys within the nature reserves.

Last year, 154 offenders were fined.

Dr Peter Ng, a professor with the National University of Singapore's department of biological science, admitted to feeding monkeys at the Botanic Gardens in the 1960s.

No longer, of course.

'The problem is that they learn to expect food from us. If people in the park have food that is not meant for the monkeys, they will get nasty and may attack people,' he said.

He added that it takes a very short time for monkeys to adjust to going back to their diet in the wild.

'The challenge is to wean them off depending on us. This can only start when we stop feeding them,' he said.

Related links

• $3,000 fine for feeding monkeys Straits Times 13 May 09;
  
• Please do not feed the monkeys more about why you should not, on the wildsingapore website.