Lopburi appeals for funds to manage monkeys

2026-02-20 - 04:34

LOPBURI — 20 February 2026, Officials from the Office of the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Budget Office visited Lopburi to inspect efforts to manage the city’s monkey population and hear about problems facing the municipality. Thakorn Julin, director of the Parliamentary Budget Office, led the delegation to the Lopburi Municipal Animal Nursery in Pho Kao Ton subdistrict, Muang district. They were welcomed by Lopburi Mayor Jamroen Salacheep, senior municipal officials and staff involved in controlling the monkey population. The group held a meeting at the nursery to receive a briefing on measures to curb monkey numbers and to discuss obstacles in caring for animals being held by the municipality. The mayor said the growing monkey population has affected residents across the city. Monkeys have entered homes, attacked shoppers in the town centre and damaged property, he said. Some business operators have relocated their homes and shops out of the city, harming the local economy and leaving Lopburi close to becoming a deserted town. Following joint discussions between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lopburi province and the municipality, authorities agreed to work together to control the population and relocate captured monkeys to the municipal nursery. The plan requires separate enclosures for monkeys from different areas, including those from building sites, the Phra Prang Sam Yot shrine and the San Phra Kan area. Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the municipality have trapped monkeys, conducted health checks, recorded their details and sterilised them before placing them in designated cages in line with departmental guidelines. However, the municipality has encountered budgetary constraints, particularly over food and care costs, as regulations prevent it from allocating funds for such expenses. The Parliamentary Budget Office said it would submit the issue to a meeting to seek ways to provide assistance, aiming to help residents and monkeys in Lopburi coexist peacefully. The mayor later led the delegation on a tour of the enclosures to observe operations and better understand the challenges in order to seek further budget support.