Kathmandu, April 8

The number of complaints regarding damage caused by wild animals have increased greatly at the District Forest Office Kathmandu, said District Forest Officer Indra Sapkota.

Sapkota said the DFO had been receiving many complaints against monkeys, wild boars, and porcupines destroying crops on the outskirts of the Valley.

“Locals have filed numerous complaints demanding that the DFO address the problem,” DFO Indra Sapkota told The Himalayan Times, “However, there is nothing we can do, because we do not have the authority or regulation regarding pest management.”

Sapkota said they have been receiving complaints against wild boars and porcupines from the outskirts of the Valley such as Tokha, while complaints against monkeys come from both the outskirts and urban areas of the Valley.

The DFO reportedly receives complaints against monkeys the most, followed by wild boars and porcupines.

The DFO has sent a draft of a pest extermination proposal to the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation for approval to combat the issue.

Regarding the proposal, the ministry’s Biodiversity and Environment Division Chief Dr Maheshwor Dhakal said the proposal was under discussion.

This week, the Supreme Court had issued an interim order to act against the havoc caused by monkeys in Pashupatinath to the Pashupati Area Development Board and the Government of Nepal.

Meanwhile, wildlife expert and visiting professor of Kyoto University Japan Dr Mukesh Kumar Chalise has appealed the government to first conduct a research on monkey habitat, activities, and health before taking any drastic decision.

“The government must first conduct a thorough research on monkeys before deciding what steps must be taken to minimise human-animal conflict. Based on the research, the government must then decide its course of action, whether it be relocating the monkey population or exterminating them,” he said.