Agra, April 9 -- A new action plan has been approved by the state government in which no specific permission will be required for catching the monkeys (rehesus macaque) as required earlier under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Agra areas facing the monkey menace will stand to gain the most, with the process to catch monkeys easing. The capture and relocation of these simians will be affected by specialists trained for purpose, who will release these animals in the forest area of that district but not in protected sites.

Rajesh Kumar, divisional director, social forestry, Agra, said that an action plan has been released to tackle the monkey menace and this envisaged the guidelines to be followed for catching, relocating and managing m...