The agency / the voice of the only two primates on Taiwan island! In order to downgrade the conservation of rhesus monkeys in Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture should make a public basis and carefully evaluate

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It was reported on April 8 this (2018) that the Forestry Bureau of the Council of Agriculture held an "expert meeting on key points of Wildlife Assessment and Classification", during which experts reached a consensus that "the number of macaques in Taiwan has increased steadily, and it is suggested that the list can be removed from the conservation category and reduced to the general category." it can be confirmed after the "Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee" convened by the Forestry Bureau in June. If the demotion is confirmed, in the future, rhesus monkeys will cause farming damage, and farmers can directly capture and slaughter them without notice.

It is understood that today (June 25), the Forestry Bureau will hold a "Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee" to discuss and evaluate the "adjustment" of the conservation levels of more than 20 species of mammal wildlife, including Taiwan macaques, Shanqiang, water deer, white nose heart, and so on.

"successful conservation" is worth celebrating, but will the downgrade have an impact?

From the conservation point of view, it is regrettable that any kind of animal needs to be classified as a conservation category, or even reach the "vulnerable" or "endangered" level. Therefore, if Taiwan rhesus monkeys or more conservation species can return from conservation to the general category, the so-called "conservation success" is really worth celebrating.

However, for the Taiwan rhesus monkeys that have the most conflicts with human activities at present, do their "demotion" assessment really follow the words of the Council of Agriculture: "with a steady increase in the number of ethnic groups, can they be de-listed from conservation to general?" And what impact will this "downgrade" measure have on wild animals? Has the Forestry Bureau of the competent authority made a proper assessment? It is not to be ignored.

Taiwan macaques are the only primates on the island except humans. In the past, they were once endangered because of mass hunting and habitat destruction. After the wild conservation law was passed in 1989, it was classified as conservation. Because of the high overlap between habitats and human activity areas, human-monkey conflicts are more frequent than other wild animals. In recent years, the media have repeatedly reported that Taiwan macaques have caused agricultural damage, and farmers have repeatedly advocated that "the rhesus monkey population is excessive and should be demoted." whether Taiwan's macaque conservation level should be "lowered" has attracted much attention from all walks of life.

Taiwan Rhesus Monkey (Photo / Ke Jinyuan)

Second, the estimation of the number of monkeys is based on a large error, and there is no impact assessment after demotion!

The "statement" of the current number of rhesus monkeys in Taiwan is based on the "statement" announced by the Council of Agriculture in 2000. according to the three vegetation areas of Taiwan's macaque activities: broad-leaved forest, confusion forest and coniferous forest, it is calculated that the monkey population samples are 30, 22 and 22, respectively. the density of the three kinds of vegetation in Taiwan is 0.7219, 02756 and 02824 groups per square kilometer, respectively, and the total area of the three kinds of vegetation in Taiwan is estimated from the density (11204, 3912, 4385 square kilometers). Based on this, it is estimated that there are 10404 monkey groups in China, and based on the number of common macaque groups of 20 to 30, it is estimated that there are about 20 to 300000 monkeys in Taiwan.

However, this study has also stressed that time, manpower, weather, habitat and animal interference may affect the estimation, and we must pay attention to possible errors. In other words, this "extrapolation" data ignores the differences in population size and population density of rhesus monkeys in different habitats, as well as the factors of environmental development, climate change and human interference since 2000.

And according to the report of the rhesus monkey population survey conducted by the Forestry Bureau in different regions and individuals from 2011 to 2017, it can be found that the monkey group density varies greatly in different regions, not all 0.7219 km / group, and the monkey group size is not the same. (see Table 1)

According to the above, the Forestry Bureau has not conducted an updated and comprehensive survey on the number of rhesus monkeys in the past 17 years since 2000. Second, the population status of rhesus monkeys varies greatly in different regions. After a long time, can the data on a wide range of "estimates" made in 2000 be used as a basis for "stable and sustained growth, and even conservation success" of the whole monkey population in Taiwan? Accordingly, the conservation level of Taiwan rhesus monkeys was "lowered"! It should be carefully considered.

On the other hand, Zhang Shiwei (2013), an associate researcher at the endemic Biology Center, also pointed out that the density of monkey groups is not positively related to the problem of monkey damage, which mainly lies in more agricultural activities and close to forests, increasing the chances for macaques to enter farmland to feed. And if the monkeys in some areas are small groups, but use capture and removal as a method of control, it may cause regional population extinction.

In fact, at the meeting of experts on Wildlife Assessment and Classification of mammals in November 2013, experts and scholars attending the meeting agreed that there was not enough new evidence for Taiwanese macaques to change and downgrade their conservation levels. and primates are internationally protected species, and other wild animals that should be conserved should still be maintained. "

In its 2015 reply to the Legislative Yuan's special report on the problem of agricultural damage caused by macaques, the Forestry Bureau also made it clear that "adjusting Taiwan macaques to general wild animals does not solve the problem of monkey damage." The number of human-monkey conflicts is about 1000 to 5000, accounting for less than 5 per cent of the island's population, and it is difficult to affect the conservation level of all ethnic groups due to the problem caused by less than 5 per cent of the population. "

Between 2013 and 2017, the Forestry Bureau did not release any new evidence or evidence to overturn the above claim and to support a "downgrade" of Taiwan's rhesus monkey conservation.

In short, according to the available public information, the scientific data of the Council of Agriculture on downgrading the conservation of rhesus monkeys in Taiwan are not sufficient and complete. the important thing is that before putting forward the assessment of the impact of the downgrade and preparation for the downgrade, the downgrade is hasty and the consequences are worrying.

Third, only by establishing and implementing the notification and long-term monitoring system can we fully grasp the actual situation of rhesus monkey ecology and agricultural damage.

Whether it is Professor Lin Lianggong's research report "Taiwan Rhesus Monkey Hazard Prevention and Counseling platform and Advanced Technology", or "Taiwan Rhesus Monkey Management" published by the Forestry Bureau, they all say that monkey damage problems should actively establish an effective notification system and deal with them at different levels. The notification and monitoring system can not only accelerate the response of farmers and governments in the face of agricultural damage, but also establish a specific and effective database to understand the distribution and changes of rhesus monkey populations, which can be used for future macaque research and agricultural damage prevention and control.

As can be seen from many surveys, human-monkey conflicts are not necessarily due to the excessive number of macaques, but to improper or illegal land development and crop cultivation. The Government should actively face the problem of the use of illegal woodland and should not connive at farmers who illegally use their land. As a result, they have been unable to set up a notification system to grasp the ecology of monkeys, the degree of agricultural damage and the level of treatment.

If the government does not actively face the problem of "man-made disasters" caused by people who break the law, but only operates on animals and reduces Taiwan macaques to a general category, so that it is no longer necessary to hunt and slaughter macaques, this is not only "sawing arrow therapy" and "silk-benefiting". It will also make the establishment of an agricultural damage reporting and monitoring system a long way off.

Fourth, the subsidy for prevention and control equipment needs to go first!

According to the General report on the examination of the General Budget of the Central Government, the amount of subsidies for agricultural losses in Taiwan increased from 6.3 billion 46.59 million yuan in 101to 38.3 billion 39.66 million 5,000 yuan in 105th, a six-fold explosion, a record high. Such a large amount of subsidy is beyond the financial reach of the government.

Some farmers and people advocate that the government should compensate for the agricultural damage caused by macaques. However, at present, there is no monkey hazard notification system. How can we confirm the harm caused by rhesus monkeys? How to evaluate the degree of agricultural damage and the basis of compensation? Second, agricultural damage subsidies will make the government's funds for disaster relief expand infinitely. In the face of the problem of agricultural damage of rhesus monkeys, the Council of Agriculture should actively start with subsidies for prevention and control equipment.

The Taitung Agricultural Reform Farm developed a new monkey-proof net in 102; the Kaohsiung city government completed a model of six dead rhesus monkeys in 103 to deter the monkeys; and the Taoyuan Agricultural Reform Farm issued a "monkey-repelling early warning device" in 105, all of which were "effective." If the notification system can be successfully built, it can fully subsidize and make good use of all kinds of rhesus monkey control equipment.

In addition, the erection of an electric fence is considered to be the most effective. The Council of Agriculture also approved a demonstration plan to subsidize local governments to assist farmers in the prevention and control of rhesus monkeys in Taiwan in January 105. the central government allocated a total budget of 8 million yuan to subsidize the installation of an electric purse seine. After the review in December, the eligible agricultural land area was further revised down from 1 hectare to 0.2 hectare, the central subsidy was expanded to include electricity fence materials from power-only electric herders, and the approval procedures were simplified, hoping to increase farmers' willingness to apply.

Since all kinds of monkey prevention equipment have achieved good results over the years, we should continue to promote the use and development of more effective prevention and control tools by farmers to reduce the damage caused by macaques to crops.

Fifth, implement the disclosure of government information, democratic participation can not "play fake"!

The grade adjustment of wildlife conservation, according to the "key points of Wildlife Assessment and Classification Operation", the Forestry Bureau evaluates the five major conditions such as "the distribution of wild animals, the current number of wild groups (adult individuals), the population trend, classification status, and threats of wild groups." and draw up different evaluation benchmark tables according to different species. For example, to assess whether Taiwan rhesus monkeys are downgraded, the schedule "amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals applicable to land" is used and assessed by scholars and experts. the results of the assessment were discussed at the "expert meeting on key points of Wildlife Assessment and Classification", and the consensus on species demotion was sent to the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee for confirmation.

However, this time, the Forestry Bureau wants to adjust the conservation levels of more than 20 species, including Taiwan rhesus monkeys, and the minutes and materials of previous meetings of experts and scholars will not be made public until after the meeting of the advisory committee. in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the problem, it can only be obtained through the legislator's office. It is even more difficult for people from all walks of life to understand the distribution, population, and trend of wild populations of rhesus monkeys and other species in Taiwan. The lack of disclosure of relevant information only increases concern about the suspicion and panic of different species conservation groups and the public, which is not conducive to the promotion and implementation of the policy.

As a matter of fact, in the minutes of the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee on 5 July 106, the Forestry Bureau consulted members on whether to open the live broadcast of the meeting, in which it decided that the future meetings of the committee should be held in a more open manner (including live broadcasting). And compare with the Environmental Protection Department to plan the live broadcast of EIA, so that stakeholders can participate in expressing their views in a timely manner.

The Forestry Bureau should not only make public, video recording or live broadcast of the full discussion process of the Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee tomorrow (June 25), but also publish all relevant meeting materials in advance and open all sectors of the community to participate in providing views. In the future, relevant meetings should also be held by comparison, so as to make the conservation decisions and basis of each kind of wildlife more open and transparent.

Appendix: [table 1] A list of the survey report on the number of rhesus monkeys in different regions from 2011 to 2017 (Taiwan Animal Society Research Association collates and makes tables)

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