Home / Environment / Monkey Sterilization Centers Saved from Closure
Monkey Sterilization Centers Saved from Closure
10 Oct
Summary
- Himachal Pradesh will keep monkey sterilization centers open.
- Rhesus macaque exclusion from Wildlife Act affected operations.
- Funding sought to continue monkey sterilization program.
The Himachal Pradesh Forest & Wildlife Department has decided to keep its seven Monkey Sterilization Centres (MSCs) operational, reversing an earlier plan to close five of them. This decision follows the removal of the rhesus macaque from the schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which had led to a reduced workload and consideration of facility rationalization.
The seven MSCs, managed by the Himachal Pradesh Zoo & Creation Breeding Society since 2007, are located in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Sirmaur, Chamba, and Una districts. While the centres in Tutikandi (Shimla) and Gopalpur (Kangra) were slated for continued operation, the department now aims to keep all facilities active.
Officials noted that monkey sterilization had significantly decreased since 2024 due to the legal change. However, increasing demands to re-list monkeys and a rise in monkey-related issues, including an average of 50-55 monkey attack cases monthly in Shimla alone, have prompted this reconsideration. The department is actively seeking funding, previously sourced from CAMPA funds, to sustain the sterilization program.
Challenges such as manpower shortages and the co-location of MSCs with rehabilitation centres exist. Between 2007 and 2025, these centres sterilized 188,752 monkeys. Despite a decline in sterilization numbers in 2024-25, with only 2,284 monkeys sterilized against a target of 8,800, the department is awaiting results from a fresh population estimation exercise conducted in 2024. A 2019 survey indicated a significant decline in the rhesus macaque population.
