Sri Lanka considers selling 100,000 endangered monkeys to China, reports say

Animal rights groups have condemned reports that Sri Lanka is considering selling 100,000 endangered monkeys to China.

The island nation, which is currently facing its worst financial crisis in decades, is reportedly considering selling thousands of toque macaques to China to be housed in zoos.

Toque macaques, a species of monkey found only in Sri Lanka, are considered "endangered" according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list.

The monkeys are considered a pest in the island nation as they destroy crops and sometimes attack people.

"They want the monkeys for over 1,000 zoos they have across China," Sri Lanka's Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told AFP.

He said he has "appointed a committee" to see how it can be done.

The discussion is between Sri Lanka's government and a Chinese company - not the Chinese government - the minister said, according to Reuters.

The funds could also potentially go towards the $7 (£5.6) billion in debt Sri Lanka owes Beijing as part of China's belt and road infrastructure project, The Times reports.

But conservationist campaigners have slammed the potential move amid fears the monkeys may instead be used for animal testing.

China has just 18 zoos that fit the "globally accepted criteria" of a zoo, four conservation groups claim in a joint statement, adding that this averages out at 5,000 macaques per zoo.

The statement read: "Macaques, with their human-like qualities have been particularly popular, especially with medical testing facilities in the USA and Europe. The potential income from such a trade would be far greater than that from the sale of this species to Zoos. Is this where these macaques are headed?"

The groups slammed the potential deal as "blood money" and instead urged the government to fund research into the causes and prevention of issues caused by the monkeys instead of putting money towards capturing 100,000 of the animals.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka said the government department responsible for the importation of wild animals is "not aware of the request and has not received such application from any side".

It said claims that the monkeys could be used for "experimental" purposes is "disinformation".

"The Chinese government always attaches great importance to wildlife protection and actively fulfill international obligations, which makes China one of top countries in the world in terms of wildlife protection legislation and law enforcement," the statement read.

It comes as Sri Lanka faces its worst financial crisis since 1948 as the country contends with a year of shortages and skyrocketing prices.

Earlier this month, the South Asian country secured approval for a $2.9 (£2.3) billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

Last year, severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel led to street protests that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

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