The monkey cage purchased by Luye Public Office is shaped like a hut and is nicknamed "Monkey B&B". (File photo, provided by the office)
The monkey epidemic problem in Taitung is becoming increasingly serious. Not only farmers are suffering from it, but even popular tourist attractions are not immune! The famous hot air balloon event venue "Luye Highland" has recently reported that wild macaques have become more frequent, as reported by B&B operators, tourists and county councillors. In the face of rampant monkey infestation, Coastline MPs even angrily suggested during a parliamentary inquiry that after catching monkeys, they should "neuter and lock them up, and train them to perform tricks for tourists." He even opened a "monkey school" to sell tickets and subsidize damaged farmers.
Lawmakers worry that "the number of monkeys will exceed the number of people"
County councilor Pan Guilan pointed out that the monkey epidemic in the longitudinal valley area is extremely serious, coupled with the serious population loss in various towns and villages in recent years. Between 2020 and 2026 alone, the population of young people aged 20 to 39 in Luye Township has dropped significantly by 12.7%. Pan Guilan worriedly expressed that if the monkey epidemic continues to expand, "in two years, will the number of monkeys exceed the population?" She bluntly said that although the county government currently subsidizes the installation of power grids, the actual prevention and control effects are limited, and she hopes the county government can come up with real and concrete solutions.
In the past, Taitung's famous "monkey watching" attractions were mainly located along the coastline in Donghe Township, including the area from Donghe Bridge to Taiyuan Valley. In recent years, after the county government vigorously promoted the "no feeding" policy, although the monkey gathering situation has changed, farmers revealed that this only caused the monkeys to move to other areas to cause trouble. Councilor Xu Jinrong felt helpless about this, and angrily proposed the idea of catching monkeys in a large trap cage "Monkey B&B", neutering them, and sending them to a "Monkey School" for performances to sell tickets.
Can monkeys be civilized? Member confessed: He said something out of anger
Regarding whether monkeys really have the "possibility of being civilized," Xu Jinrong later admitted that he was really angry in the parliament and said that. He said that it is impossible for wild macaques to be trained. It is currently very difficult to catch monkeys, let alone enough to build a school. These remarks are just to vent his anger about the lack of solutions to the monkey problem.
As for the congressmen's concern that "there are more monkeys than people", the county government currently does not have accurate statistics on the total number and distribution of monkeys in the county, so it is unable to evaluate the answer. As for the "monkey B&B" mentioned by Xu Jinrong, it is actually a large monkey cage that was conceived by the villagers of Taiyuan Village, where monkeys are seriously affected. It was named because it looks like a hut and the monkeys will be kept in it for a period of time after being captured. Luye Township also purchased several cages for use in July this year.
However, Xu Jinrong added that "Monkey B&B" is not a panacea. Because macaques are very smart, as long as they see their companions being caught, other monkeys will never come close to them again. They often have to wait until the next time a monkey is "forgetful" or has never seen the cage before taking the bait again. Precisely because even such ingenious fishing tools are gradually becoming ineffective, he urgently hopes that the county government will pay attention to it and develop effective countermeasures as soon as possible.
