Such cruelty to innocent monkeys!

Twelve monkeys were killed today in Madhya Khagdi area, of Ward 9 of Madaripur Municipality, on Tuesday afternoon. Locals claim the monkeys were poisoned. 

According to the locals, in the afternoon, a number of strangers gave bananas and puffed rice to the monkeys and left. The harmless animals started bleeding from their mouths moments after eating the food. Several monkeys fell to the ground and all 12 monkeys eventually died.

An individual named Alex Shuvho took the incident to Facebook, "Madaripur's Charmuguria once had many monkeys and it was a tradition of the place. People used to come from far and wide to see these monkeys. These monkeys sometimes got food from the government but that stopped. Recently, the monkeys have spread out in search of food. As a result, they are causing people a lot of trouble. They steal food from homes and fruit from the trees. So, people are now trying to chase away these monkeys in various ways."

"Now, some people are killing monkeys by mixing poison with food. Nayachar (Eco) park in Charmuguria was made a place for monkeys to stay, but there are no monkeys there but humans in pairs. Then a place was set, in the village of Gumchha in Charamguria, for the monkeys, but only cows and goats are there – not monkeys," Alex continued.

"These monkeys are wild animals. It is our duty to protect them. Instead, we humans are killing them. Almost everyone in Ward 9 is annoyed about the monkeys. However, not a single person you can see in these pictures agrees with killing monkeys in this way. All of us demand that those who killed these monkeys in this way should be found and brought under the law," he explained.

Forest department officials visited the spot after receiving the news. The Social Forest Department has lodged a complaint with the Sadar Model Police Station.

Idris Mia, officer-in-charge of Madaripur Social Forest Department, said, "Two to two-and-a-half thousand monkeys live in Charmuguria. The forest department also regularly feeds the monkeys. However, 12 monkeys in the area died on Tuesday afternoon. The locals buried 11 monkeys but one monkey was brought to the Animal Resources Office to test. Meanwhile, a complaint has been lodged at the police station."

In this regard, Director of the Wildlife Crime Suppression Unit under the Forest Department, SM Zahir Akon, said, "After receiving the news from Madaripur, we discussed the matter with the Jashore Forest Conservator, Faridpur DFO, plus concerned Range and BIT officials. A team led by the Divisional Forest Officer of Faridpur Social Forest Department has conducted an investigation. Madaripur district's administration is monitoring the matter."