Karnataka: 38 monkeys found dead in Hassan, poisoning suspected

HASSAN: In a suspected case of poisoning, 38 monkeys (Bonnet Macaque) were found dead near Chowdanahalli village in Belur taluk in Hassan district on Wednesday night. The monkeys were killed elsewhere and the carcasses were disposed of at the village. The pile of dead monkeys included infants. Belur taluk health officer visited the spot and turned down the outbreak of KFD.
At 11pm on Wednesday, when the villagers were going home, they saw some gunny bags scattered on the road. They opened the bags and were shocked to see monkeys stuffed inside them. Most of the monkeys were dead except five, who jumped out of the bags and ran towards the forest area.
“Two monkeys were bleeding from the mouth and nose. The duo was also found beaten by clubs. The remaining monkeys were frothing at the mouth. On Friday we will send the samples for test. The results will confirm whether they were poisoned,” said Gangadhar, assistant director, veterinary hospital, Belur.