Green Monkey Debate: Assessing Benefits and Risks to Barbados' Agriculture and Economy

The monkey debate has restarted.

A significant number of farmers dread the presence of the green monkey, while animal rights activists, conservationists and tourists welcome their presence.

Green monkeys were transported from their native land West Africa to Barbados as pets during the slave trade in the 1600s. Thankfully, cats and dogs have taken the place of these original pets now transformed into destructive marauding pests.

On account of accelerated reproduction, there is an estimated population of 14 000 monkeys on the island.

There is a universal principle suggesting that anything beneficial to mankind’s development and existence should be retained and maintained.

The converse of the above is also an abiding principle as well; anything unbeneficial should be discarded or avoided.

During a reasonable amount of research on the green monkey, there were no more than three listed benefits, namely pollination of flowers, seed dispersion and soil fertilisation.

It must be noted that other less destructive animals, birds, and bees contribute to the above activities, and so the absence of monkeys does not prevent pollination, seed dispersion, and soil fertilisation from occurring.

With the daily destruction of crops, a decision must be made to either reduce the size of the monkey population or eliminate them altogether.

A determination must be made whether the benefits monkeys contribute outweigh the destruction they bring to food security and sovereignty.

The presence of monkeys is a source of danger to agricultural production, the livelihood of farmers, and the overall economy of Barbados; therefore, some initiatives must be undertaken to eliminate such danger.

It is also to be noted that apart from the densely populated countries of West Africa, the only other countries with a significant population of green monkeys are the Caribbean nations of St Kitts and Nevis and Barbados.

It would be useful to have the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare amended with a conditional clause that guarantees the presence and behaviour of green monkeys do not inhibit or hinder human development, livelihood and progress.

Rampaging troops of destructive monkeys stand in the way of sustainable food production, food security, and Millennium Development Goal number one which is to stamp out poverty and hunger.

Has the Barbados government sought advice and assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on this most pressing and consequential matter?

Michael Ray