A troop of Japanese macaques that has called an Australian city park home for four decades will be prevented from reproducing because of worries about ongoing inbreeding.
The monkeys, which have been a unique attraction for Launceston in Tasmania since the 1980s, will die out over the next 25 to 30 years as a result of a council decision on Thursday to sterilise the males in the troop.
Ten monkeys were given to Launceston by Japanese sister city Ikeda in 1980, in exchange for 10 wallabies.
The macaque troop at City Park has 26 individuals, including 14 males, two infants born in the past week, and one pregnant female who was in labour at the time of publication.
Launceston city council is concerned about a lack of genetic diversity among the monkeys, with warnings that continued breeding would leave the enclosure overcrowded and negatively affect health and wellbeing.
Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, live for about 30 years.
Under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, they are not listed as suitable for live importation, which means that new monkeys cannot be introduced to the City Park enclosure.
There are two other Japanese macaques in captivity domestically, in South Australia, but councillors ruled out the option of transporting monkeys interstate.
A council meeting on Thursday afternoon, which voted 10-1 in favour of sterilisation, was told there were signs of miscarriages and stillbirths in the troop.
Veterinary advice said the best way forward was for surgical reproductive control of males, as opposed to culling or neutering some reproductive animals.
In 2000, it was revealed the herpes B virus had spread through the monkeys but discussions about euthanising the troop were not well received.
“We know the Launceston community cares very much about the welfare of the City Park monkeys,” the Launceston mayor, Matthew Garwood, said. “That’s a sentiment that’s also very much shared by both councillors and staff.
“The inability to introduce new genetic stock and the serious impacts on their health and wellbeing means we need to begin to consider the future of the troop.
“[The] decision was a difficult one but it prioritises the welfare of the monkey troop so we can keep them as healthy and happy as possible for as long as possible.
“[The] monkeys will still be with us for decades to come and we’ll continue to care for them to the highest possible standards.”
Garwood said he would write to the mayor of Ikeda to explain the decision.
Councillor Andrea Dawkins, who supported the motion, said community expectations had changed.
“Perhaps, if we were offered this opportunity [to have monkeys] now, we wouldn’t say ‘yes’,” Dawkins, an animal welfare advocate, said. “Animals in captivity purely for the enjoyment of people is something that we’ve moved through.”
“We respect that ongoing relationship [with Ikeda] … We understand this is something that people used to do as a show of goodwill and connection.”
Ikeda is home to the world’s oldest known wombat, a 35-year-old male that was given by Launceston more than three decades ago.
Councillor Joe Pentridge, the only one to vote against the motion, said there was a lack of genetic diversity among the macaques, but he did not support sterilising them.
“I don’t believe it’s the right solution,” he said. “That’s not going to fix our overcrowding, that’s not going to fix the bad management that we’ve been doing for a lot of years.”
Desexing of male monkeys is expected to take place across two years.
Graeme Crook, a former zoologist who worked with captive primates for 20 years, said preventing breeding could result in tension within the macaque troop.
“You’re not allowing a natural behaviour, and that can cause all sorts of issues psychologically,” he said. “You’ll get females who really want a baby who can’t have one, who kidnap other babies – all that sort of thing happens.”
Monkeys have been a feature of Launceston’s City Park for than a century; the park has also exhibited the thylacine and exotic species such as the brown bear and deer.
