A local government in Aomori Prefecture on Monday started hunting and killing Japanese Macaques -- a protected species -- due to concerns that they might harm people.
The monkeys in the Shimokita Peninsula will be killed in line with the prefecture's protection and management law, the Wakinosawa village government said. The law allows protected species to be captured and killed if they cause serious harm to humans.
The village had planned to catch 24 monkeys it identified as "harmful animals" in the area in October. But a nationwide public protest put the plan on hold, its officials said.
The village then asked the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University to take the monkeys. The university refused, so the village recently decided to go ahead with its cull.