Japanese monkey attack victims to be given compensation

Victims of an ill-tempered monkey which terrorised a town in western Japan are to be offered compensation. As many as 2,500 licensed hunters, firefighters and police officers were mobilised to snare the primate after it set upon 18 people during a 13-day rampage through Hyuga.



The wild macaque was finally cornered in a vacant house on September 9. The monkey was put down shortly thereafter. The municipal assembly of Hyuga, in Miyazaki prefecture, unanimously approved a bill to offer 20,000 yen (£120, $205) to each person the male monkey had attacked.

“Considering the seriousness of the situation, in which the residents were consecutively menaced and many of whom suffered injuries, we have decided to provide compensation money for this incident,” a municipal official explained. Patrols were continuing around the streets in case of further danger, the official said.



"But we have not found any other monkeys threatening our people," city official Kenji Yoshida said. "The city has now returned to calm and normal." Macaque monkeys are common in the wild throughout Japan, where the densely-wooded hillsides provide a habitat.