Minister of Agriculture, Lands, and Irrigation Namal Karunaratne stated today (26) that only around 50 percent of the information provided by the public during the recent national animal census has been verified as accurate.
Speaking in Parliament, the Minister explained that the island-wide census, conducted on 15 March, aimed to identify animals harmful to crops, study their impact, and implement suitable measures to mitigate damage.
According to Karunaratne, the simultaneous survey focused on monkeys, toque macaques, peacocks, and porcupines. Verification of the findings confirmed that approximately 50 percent of the public reports about monkeys and macaques were accurate. Based on this, the committee responsible for formulating recommendations to minimise crop damage has decided to consider 50 percent of the reported figures as reliable data.
Presenting the official report, the Minister shared the recorded population numbers for the relevant species:
- Macaques: 5,197,517
- Monkeys: 1,747,623
- Porcupines: 2,666,630
- Peacocks: 4,285,745
He further noted that the census was not conducted in six Grama Niladhari divisions of Delft Island in Jaffna, as the targeted animal species were not present in those areas.
