It is reported that not only China but also the United States of America is interested in the monkeys of Sri Lanka. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, the United States of America has also applied to get a stock of monkeys from Sri Lanka.
The minister further said that arrangements have been made to appoint a committee to prepare a specific method in relation to providing the 100,000 monkeys requested by China, and we hope to proceed according to its recommendations.
It is reported that the current monkeys (Rila ) population in Sri Lanka is close to 30 lakhs, and therefore a large amount of crops are destroyed by them. The Minister further said that it is appropriate to give monkeys to foreign countries and no one has said not to do so. However, the minister states that the United States has not yet informed the exact amount of rebate that its country needs.