A Bill to amend the Animals and Birds Act to create fixed penalty fines for the feeding of Barbary macaques was published last week.

While leaving the maximum fine on summary conviction by a Magistrate at £4,000, it introduces a new level of fining, on the issuing of tickets, which will be £500 for feeding monkeys outside the Nature Reserve, or enticing them from there, and £250 for feeding them within the Reserve.

In addition, new Rules that will follow mean that officers of the Department of the Environment and the Environmental Agency will be able to issue these tickets, as well as the Police.

The new laws, which will need to go through Parliament in the New Year, are aimed at setting a realistic deterrent to the feeding of macaques in particular in built up areas, which continues being done, by well-meaning people, but with the result that the macaques become established there. This is one of the measures of the developing macaque management plan.

Minister for the Environment, Dr John Cortes commented, "Feeding of monkeys in built up areas continues to be one of the major reasons why they spend time there. By increasing the officers able to police this, and making the fines, while still significant, more realistic, we hope the message will get through and offenders will realise that they have a responsibility to cooperate in keeping monkeys away, and that they will be fined if they choose not to. I am certain this measure will have support from the whole of the community. It is just one of a number we are bringing about in the coming months."