I den indiske delstat Punjab har de problemer med vilde aber, der i mange tilfælde angriber mennesker, stjæler mad og begår hærværk. Men nu har man fundet løsningen – aberne skal på genopdragelse i en særlig lukket institution, hvor de kan lære gode manerer, så de kan begå sig i samfundet på hæderlig vis, når de bliver lukket ud:
As more and more forests disappear, they are increasingly encroaching into human settlements, say experts.
The problem of rogue monkeys is particularly severe in towns close to India’s north-western border with Pakistan.
Officials accuse them of a variety of bad behaviour from terrorising children, snatching food from people and destroying property.
Macaque monkeys routinely destroy TV antennae, tear down clothes-lines and damage parked scooters and motorcycles.
“Besides people landing in hospitals after encounters with monkeys, the animals also often get hurt when house owners try to chase them away or keep them out by using live electric wires and other means,” chief wildlife warden RK Luna told the BBC.
The proposed new monkey school will take in the “worst offenders” and put them through a crash course in good manners.
“We have proposed a composite facility where scientific methods will be employed to change and alter the social habits of the monkeys,” Mr Luna said.
Wildlife officials hope to reduce aggression and train the monkeys to be more like the wild animals they originally were.
Genopdragelsesskolen er en mere human erstatning for et “fængsel”, der hidtil er blevet brugt til at holde de værste forbrydere blandt aberne fængslet. Meget human og usædvanlig idé, må man sige – og spændende at se, hvilke resultater dette dyrepsykologiske eksperiment kan give.