https://steemit.com/animals/@pinkspectre/thousands-of-feral-monkeys-live-in-the-wild-in-the-us
Yesterday I posted an article about feral troops of rhesus macaques living in Florida and South Carolina. While many people view them fondly, and state officials find them a nuisance, the monkeys are viewed as a business opportunity by at least one man. Scott Cheslak of Beaufort, SC travels to Florida at least once a year to trap monkeys and sell them to labs to use as research animals. He can make 7 to 15 thousand dollars per monkey, making these trips quite lucrative for him. While officials are glad to be rid of the monkeys, who are carriers of herpes and can be a public menace, many animal rights groups and private citizens are highly critical of Cheslak's actions. Though the macaques are non-native and not protected, plenty of locals are fond of the creatures, and the fate of a lab research animal is sad and brutal.
Cheslak has been hunting the macaques for 14 years, along the Ocklawaha and Silver Rivers, where he uses cage traps and dart guns to capture between 20 and 30 monkeys per trip. Then he either takes the monkeys to South Carolina's Morgan Island for Alpha Genesis Inc., or sells them to other research labs around the country. A $150/ year special use permit from the state allows him to remove the macaques from public lands. Cheslak defends his actions with the argument that with no natural predators, the populations would explode and become unmanageable without constant harvesting. He used to capture monkeys from SIlver RIver State Park, but the park stopped the practice several years ago. In that time the population has doubled there, according to Cheslak.
In the early 90's efforts to remove and sterilize the monkeys mobilized thousands of locals who wanted the macaques, who have been around for 70 years, left alone. Park Service officials are grateful that Cheslak is keeping the numbers down, as it draws ire away from themselves.
Companies argue that rhesus macaques are important for biomedical advancement, where they serve as test subjects
for nerve biology, immunology, reproduction and development research. They are also used to test drugs and medical procedures for diseases like Parkinson's AIDS and diabetes. They also argue along with state Health officials that the moneys can spread diseases such as tuberculosis, Herpes B and measles to people.
Animal rights advocates argue that the cruelty outweighs any benefit. Putting a previously wild animal in a cage and subjecting it to experimentation and a premature death is certainly a cruel practice. And the monkeys pose no environmental burden on local water and ecosystems. What do you think? Do you support Scott Cheslak or do you think the monkeys should be left alone?
