Forestry Administration (FiA) officials plan to conduct a nationwide census of monkeys, particularly in tourist areas, to locate and manage aggressive primates that have been causing danger to the public, including both domestic and international travellers.

The initiative follows numerous reports of disturbances caused by monkeys, especially in the Siem Reap tourism area. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are currently in discussions with provincial authorities before launching the operation.

Ministry secretary of state Ung Sam Ath mentioned in a meeting earlier this week in Siem Reap that forestry officials will be conducting the census in public areas across the country, particularly in locations where monkeys are known to reside, according to the provincial information department.

“Through this census, officials will be able to identify aggressive monkeys that pose a threat to humans. This will help facilitate their relocation to other areas or legal breeding farms,” he said.

Provincial agriculture department director Tea Kim Soth noted that similar meetings would be held in other provinces. He said the specific methods for the operation have not yet been determined, but he emphasised the importance of cooperation with local residents who are familiar with both hostile and gentle monkeys.

“All tourist sites will see the removal of aggressive monkeys. They bite tourists. We will only target [these] monkeys because they’ve been causing significant issues for tourists. This is why the work is necessary, and we need people who can identify which monkeys are aggressive and which are not,” he explained.

In August, the FiA issued a public request to report any encounters with belligerent monkeys in public areas to enable intervention and capture.

A forestry official revealed that the census is part of that earlier announcement. He said that they have so far received multiple requests to capture menacing monkeys, including several in the Angkor area, two at Preah Vihear Temple, 20 at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh and one at a pagoda in Kandal province.

“A male monkey in Kandal has already been captured and relocated to Phnom Tamao Zoo after biting two people. We are preparing to take further actions at the other locations,” he said.

The official noted that the method of capture depends on the situation.

He said that techniques include using anaesthetics and setting traps, adding that anaesthetics are typically used for dominant monkeys, as they generally avoid traps, while enclosures baited with food are used for baby or smaller monkeys.