KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA has dropped a plan to round up nuisance monkeys from its cities and sell them abroad as exotic meat or for medical research, after discovering that most of the animals are too ill to be exported.

In August, the government said it would end a ban on the export of long-tailed macaques after complaints that they were too aggressive and had attacked residents. Animal-rights groups objected, saying the monkeys would be sold to laboratories.

But the New Straits Times said on Saturday the government had now reversed its decision after discovering that the monkeys were riddled with diseases and that no one would want to buy them.

'They were supposed to fulfil the demand for exotic meat in a few countries in Asia and in the West,' the daily quoted Natural Resources and Environment Minister Azmi Khalid as saying.

A recent study found 80 per cent of urban macaques carried diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and Aids, he said. 'Only 20 per cent were healthy and, of this, only half the number were suitable for export,' he added.

The report also quoted Mr Azmi as saying the diseases could pose a threat to human health, but it gave no idea as to how the government now planned to tackle the problem.

Veterinary experts have previously called for relocation programmes, reproduction controls and public education to stop residents from feeding or teasing the animals. -- REUTERS

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