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MADRID — A renegade group of Gibraltar's Barbary apes has annoyed residents so much that authorities announced plans Thursday to kill them.
A cluster of 25 Barbary apes — a species of monkey usually weighing about 15-25 pounds — moved to a popular beach-side area some months ago where they have been stealing food, entering rooms through open windows and harassing tourists, officials said.
The territory's tourism minister, Ernest Britto, has decided to kill the beach dwelling group, government spokesman Francis Cantos said.
"I can confirm that tourism minister Britto has decided to issue a license for a cull," said Cantos.
"The decision was not taken lightly. It is a last resort," Britto told the Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper.
The newspaper said two monkeys have already been captured and given lethal injections.
The pack, part of the territory's population of around 200, invaded a sandy beach area called Catalan Bay where they remained because they were able to rummage for food. The area is popular with tourists and has a luxury hotel.
Britto said he determined that the monkeys posed a danger to public health.
The animals mainly inhabit the high ground of Gibraltar, a British colony off Spain's southern tip.
The British Army, which is responsible for their care, has in the past often had to replenish Gibraltar's population with monkeys from Africa. Barbary apes also live in Morocco and north Algeria.
