Students use BB guns to fend off thieving monkeys on university campus
The Kaohsiung City Agriculture Bureau said that it is not illegal for students to use BB guns to protect themselves from monkeys, after a video was shared showing a female student carrying a BB gun to take a food delivery at Sun Yat-sen University.
A driver for the popular food delivery service, Foodpanda, uploaded a video to social media showing a customer coming out of the female dormitory to take delivery of her meal armed with a BB pistol.
The video showed the student at an extreme state of alert, watching for marauding macaques that have learned to recognize the bright pink Foodpanda and vivid green Uber Eats delivery boxes.
The Formosan macaques have learned that arrival of one of these scooters is a good opportunity to grab a free meal.
While the coast at first seems clear, and the student is ready to take delivery, another female student, carrying what appears to be a bag of food, suddenly runs past behind her with two monkeys in hot pursuit. Unable to dodge one of the intimidating monkeys, the woman suddenly drops the bag she is holding, and abandons the contents to avoid being attacked.
The monkey then threatens another bystander before picking up the bag and running away.
The video ignited hot debate on Facebook, with viewers questioning the legality of people using BB guns to protect themselves from monkeys.
The Kaohsiung City Agriculture Bureau issued a statement saying that the Formosan macaque is not a listed conservation animal, and as common wildlife, under the Wildlife Protection Act, people are allowed to defend themselves from attack. Therefore, the student carrying a BB gun for self protection did not break the law.
Wild Formosan Macaques have long been a problem at National Sun Yat-sen University. See previous stories:
Dog Takes Care of Monkey Business on University Campus
Monkey appears to be hard at work at Sun Yat-sen University
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