Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Himachal Pradesh Keeps All Seven Monkey Sterilisation Centres Open
Himachal Pradesh has seven centres that capture and sterilise monkeys.
The centres have been run by a conservation society since 2007.
Officials had considered closing five of them because the centres had less work to do.
That plan followed a change in the legal status of rhesus macaques under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The department has now decided to keep all seven centres open.
It is looking for money to continue the work.
The society says 1.88 lakh monkeys were sterilised from 2007 to 2025.
Himachal Pradesh’s Forest & Wildlife Department has decided to keep all seven monkey sterilisation centres operational.
The department is seeking funding to continue capturing and sterilising monkeys.
The centres are managed by the Himachal Pradesh Zoo & Conservation Breeding Society and have operated since 2007.
Five centres had been considered for closure after the rhesus macaque was excluded from the schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The Society’s annual report says 1.88 lakh monkeys were sterilised between 2007 and 2025.
- Who
- The Himachal Pradesh Forest & Wildlife Department and the Himachal Pradesh Zoo & Conservation Breeding Society.
- What
- The department decided to keep all seven monkey sterilisation centres operational and is seeking funding to continue the work.
- When
- The centres have been managed since 2007; the proposed closures were discussed at a meeting on October 7, 2025.
- Where
- Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Sirmaur, Chamba and Una districts, Himachal Pradesh.
- Why
- The department is seeking to continue the capture and sterilisation process; five closures had previously been considered because of reduced workload.
Keep the centres open
Rationalise the centres
Whether to continue operating all seven facilities
Keep the centres open
The department has decided to keep all seven centres operational and is seeking funding for continued capture and sterilisation.
Rationalise the centres
An earlier proposal considered closing five centres in view of reduced workload, following the rhesus macaque’s exclusion from the schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Number of centres
- Seven
- Managing organisation
- Himachal Pradesh Zoo & Conservation Breeding Society
- Operating since
- 2007
- Monkeys sterilised
- 1.88 lakh between 2007 and 2025
- Centres previously considered for closure
- Five
- Governing Body meeting
- October 7, 2025
- Funding status
- Efforts have been initiated to secure funding to continue the work