Bonn, Germany - The continued hunting of monkeys in many parts of the world has drastic consequences for the affected species and for the wider environment, scientists at the UN conference on biodiversity being held in Bonn said Tuesday. Immediate measures, including stricter legislation to control hunting and larger protection areas, were needed, 92 international researchers from the fields of ecology, botany and anthropology told the conference being attended by 5,000 delegates from 190 countries.
They noted the key role of monkeys and other hunted animals in, for example, spreading seeds in tropical forests, saying this could affect the stability of the forests.
The appeal was organized by the German-based conservation organization, Pro Wildlife.
"Animals like monkeys are facing near-extinction through hunting everywhere in the tropics," Pro Wildlife spokeswoman Sandra Altherr said.
"Hunting laws are not being applied and the proclaimed conservation areas are completely inadequate. If key species, like monkeys, become extinct, entire ecosystems are under threat," she said.
Altherr called on parties to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to adopt measures to control the hunting of monkeys and the consumption of so-called "bush meat."
By 2010, the CBD should establish an international network of conservation areas, she said.
The ninth conference of the parties to the CBD began on Monday and runs to May 30.
