PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: The annual sterilisation programme to reduce the number of macaques pestering residents and visitors at popular tourist spots in Hua Hin began on Tuesday.
Hua Hin Municipality mayor Nopporn Wuthikul said the current programme was launched in 2017 under a memorandum of understanding between the municipality and the Phetchaburi-based Conservation Administration Office 3 of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation with funding of 1.1 million baht.
This is its fourth year. The aim was to capture and sterilise 600 of the estimated 3,000 macaques that break into and damage houses, steal and pester residents of Khao Hin Lek Fai community and visitors to the adjoining monkey park.
He said since the launch of the programme, thousands of macaques, both male and female, had been caught, sterilised and released.
Despite this, the simian population continued to increase every year. There were now more than 3,000 macaques in the area
Every macaque that is steralised is marked before it is released, Mr Nopporn said.