Wildlife experts are warning that Jamaica could face serious agricultural and public health implications if runaway monkeys establish themselves in the island’s ecosystem, pointing to examples from Nepal and Barbados where the animals have become a burden.

Videos of white-faced capuchin monkeys purportedly in Jamaica surfaced online recently, with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) suggesting that the animals have been illegally smuggled into the island, possibly as part of the underground exotic pet trade now flourishing on social media.

READ: Public urged to avoid non-native monkeys after St Elizabeth sightings

According to terrestrial biologist Damion Whyte, since the videos emerged, environmental groups and government agencies have been gathering reports from the public about possible sightings, as the monkeys are still believed to be in the wild.

And while the idea of monkeys swinging through Jamaican forests may sound amusing to some, experts warn the reality could become a nightmare for agriculture, public health and local wildlife.

One of the biggest concerns surrounding smuggled animals is disease.

“Normally, when animals are being brought into our country, there are certain requirements for the animal and certain tests to be done to make sure that it is safe to come in the country,” Whyte said, noting that “just a tick hanging on to the monkey” could be a threat to agriculture.

He also warned that monkeys can carry illnesses unfamiliar to the island, including diseases that could affect both humans and animals.

“Monkeys have several different diseases that we don’t have in the country. Like we don’t have rabies and stuff like that, that we know of. So when you’re smuggling an animal, you don’t do all of those checks.

“You put risk on our agriculture [and] you put risk to human health cause a scratch or something like that can pass an illness. So the person who think everything good, they can get sick. And then also some other disease could pass on to some of our other native animals that we’re not even sure about,” Whyte told Observer Online.

NEPA echoed those concerns, warning that the capuchin monkeys may carry pathogens capable of infecting humans, livestock, pets and native wildlife. The agency is strongly advising Jamaicans not to approach, feed, chase or attempt to capture the animals.

Meanwhile, Whyte bemoaned what he described as a dangerous new trend fuelled by social media: the glamorisation of exotic animals as status symbols.

“People might just say, ‘bwoy, mi a have a little pet’, because there’s now a culture where you’re hearing people say they want to show off dem own private zoos and the monkey is one of the stuff we see on social media weh people like or want to get, but they don’t understand the implication that can happen to them with it,” he said.

Platforms once used for entertainment are increasingly becoming marketplaces for illegal wildlife trading. Whyte noted that native Jamaican species, including parrots, snakes and crocodiles, are also being exploited online for views, likes and virtual gifts.

“Social media now has become the marketplace for the selling of these animals…[They] come pon live and a ask fi taps and roses, and a try get likes and all of that. It’s a new thing,” he said.

The environmentalists pointed to Barbados as a warning of what could happen if monkeys establish themselves in Jamaica’s ecosystem. In that Eastern Caribbean island, green monkeys, originally brought in from West Africa more than 350 years ago, have multiplied rapidly over generations and are now considered major agricultural pests.

“Right now, when you check in Barbados…they are big pests of agriculture there. Like dem just come in and start play a game of break the melon, and just throw pop and throw all of that. So when you keep on smuggling, smuggling animals like that, as I said, it’s a threat to agriculture, a threat to human health, so that’s a big problem,” Whyte said.

What’s more, in Nepal, a municipality has taken the unusual step of declaring May 15 a public holiday to organise a mass monkey-chasing campaign after farmers suffered major crop losses caused by the growing monkey population in the area.

NEPA also cautioned that monkeys could disrupt Jamaica’s fragile ecosystems by raiding bird nests, competing with native wildlife for food and habitat, and threatening endemic species found nowhere else in the world.

“The introduction of non-native species, such as monkeys, poses a serious threat to Jamaica’s fragile ecosystems and biodiversity,” the agency said in a release on Wednesday.

Under Jamaican law, the illegal importation, possession or trade of wildlife can result in fines of up to $2 million under the Endangered Species (Protection, Conservation and Regulation of Trade) Act.

Authorities are urging members of the public to report sightings immediately and avoid any direct interaction with the animals.