Over 60 wildlife biologists have appealed to the Centre to ensure the highest level of legal protection to the rhesus macaques under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
In a letter to Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the experts said, “As primate experts, we are deeply concerned about the removal of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) from Schedule II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972, a decision that undermines scientific evidence-based understandings of primate behaviour and poses dangers to public health.”
Without the WPA protection, rhesus macaques are now vulnerable to “capture for the pet trade, street performances, and other exploitative practices,” the letter said. Rhesus macaques are highly social animals and their survival depended on strong social bonds, the letter said, pointing to the threat of zoonotic diseases when held in captivity.
“Scientific evidence shows that when primates are chained, caged, or isolated, they experience chronic stress, leading to immunosuppression and an increased risk of zoonotic disease transmission. Scientific studies have documented that stressed primates shed higher loads of pathogens, including tuberculosis, herpes B, and simian foamy virus, increasing health risks for both humans and other animals,” it added.
Taking a “high-end animal like a primate… out of a Schedule is really wrong,” Mewa Singh, wildlife biologist with the Mysore University told businessline, adding that scientists and ecologists would not have recommended this.
Without legal protection, rhesus macaques are left open to misuse, abuse, shooting or trafficking, for example, and Forest officers will not be able to help them now, in the absence of a law, explains Singh, who signed the letter to the Centre on behalf of the primate and wildlife experts in India and overseas.
Over a year ago, international animal welfare group PETA had written to the Prime Minister – cautioning that India’s rhesus macaque faced an imminent threat from foreign animal experimenters, and calling for reinstatement of the 50-year-old protection given to this indigenous species in the law.
Bio-medical research
“India has historically demonstrated global leadership in wildlife protection, notably banning monkey exports in 1978 following widespread exploitation for biomedical research. However, recent trends indicate a resurgence of illegal wildlife trade, with reports suggesting that international biomedical companies are seeking access to India’s rhesus macaques. A 2022 memorandum from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) warned of attempted exports of these monkeys to laboratories, highlighting the risk of history repeating itself,” the wildlife biologists’ letter said.
In 2023, foreign media reported that Sri Lanka scrapped its plans to export a lakh endangered toque macaque monkeys to China, after petitioners went to court against the proposal.
Anjana Aggarwal, PETA India’s Science Policy Advisor, urged the Government to act swiftly and safeguard India’s vulnerable rhesus macaques by granting them the highest protections under the law. “Rhesus macaques are social and intelligent individuals, nursed by their mothers for up to one year. In addition to being revered in the Hindu religion, rhesus macaques play an important role in local ecosystems by dispersing seeds – due to their mostly fruit-based diet – and their absence can be detrimental to forest ecology,” PETA said.
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Published on May 4, 2025