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Last Updated Sunday November 22 2020 09:11 PM IST

Monkey deaths: Forest department caught in trap cage row

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Monkey deaths: Forest department caught in trap cage row There was a huge public outcry after the department buried the bodies of the animals without conducting forensic examinations, forcing it to lay a trap cage.

Atholi, Kozhikode: The trap cage installed by the forest department at Vallikkattu Kavu near here following the mysterious deaths of about ten monkeys in the locality has become a headache for the temple authorities and local residents.

There was a huge public outcry after the department buried the bodies of the animals without conducting forensic examinations, forcing it to lay a trap cage.

The locals alleged that there was no effort on the part of the forest officials to collect blood samples from the dead monkeys to ascertain the cause of the deaths.

The officials set up the trap in order to encage an ailing monkey which was spotted limping around the area.

The authorities, however, refused to take custody of a simian which walked into the trap on Sunday. The animal spent several hours in the cramped cage before being freed by an employee of the Vallikkattu temple located adjacent to a forest area in Cheekilode.  

The residents of the area confirmed that the animal which got trapped had no signs of illness.  

Though forest officials had earlier claimed that the blood samples collected from a healthy animal could be sent to the laboratory to determine the cause of the unnatural deaths, they did a U-turn by refusing to turn up to claim the animal.  

The authorities concerned have so far failed to initiate any concrete measures to arrest the decline in the population of primates in the area, inviting widespread criticism from local residents.

“The monkey deaths reported in the area in such a short time is alarming. The forest and health departments have not taken any preventive steps to stop the disease from spreading. The issue will be brought to the notice of the district collector,” said K M Raghavan MP, who visited the locality on Monday.

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