Why Did the Thai City of 'Wonsungi Cheonguk' Declare War on Monkeys?

Residents Attack After Tourist Visits Stop Due to COVID-19
Hundreds of Monkeys Engaged in Group Brawl in 2020

As Thailand struggles with attacks by monkey troops, public anxiety has grown, leading to the launch of a 'Monkey Removal Operation.'

On the 26th, the Bangkok Post and others reported that the Thai government began a mass capture operation of monkeys in Lopburi City, located in central Thailand and famous as a 'Monkey City,' the day before. Authorities plan to install cages in various parts of the city to capture the monkeys. The captured monkeys will be transferred to the wildlife rescue center in Nakhon Nayok Province in the north before being relocated to the 'Monkey Park' in Lopburi Province.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Lopburi, about 140 km northeast of the capital Bangkok, is a region famous for its monkeys. Tourists flocked to see the monkeys there and often fed them. Due to the abundant environment, the monkey population continued to increase. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a halt in tourist visits, the shortage of food led monkeys to invade residential areas and attack residents. Especially during seasons of food scarcity, their aggression intensified, increasing residents' anxiety.

[Image source=Getty Images Bank]

In 2020, hundreds of monkeys engaged in a mass brawl in the middle of a road, causing traffic paralysis. As the number of affected residents increased, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced on the 23rd that it would compensate residents attacked by monkeys up to 100,000 baht (approximately 3.7 million won).

Currently, more than 10,000 monkeys inhabit the Lopburi area, with about 2,200 concentrated around the old town of Lopburi Province. As the monkey problem in Lopburi continued to be raised, the government undertook large-scale sterilization surgeries in 2022 to control the population. At that time, Suwat Suksiri of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said, "Residents said that the more wild monkeys there are, the more problems and conflicts can arise among the monkeys, so sterilization was necessary."