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