Authorities are calling to remove crab-eating macaques from Thailand's protected species list as the animals' population skyrockets.

Phetchaburi Governor Natthachai Nampoolsuksan, speaking on July 22, said that the number of macaques in the province's Muang district alone more than doubled from 9,500 in April to a whopping 20,000 in July.

He said the marauding troops were terrorising residents, invading private property to steal food, attacking tourists, and damaging lampposts.

However, the local government has little power to curb the ballooning population as the macaques are protected under the 2019 Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act. Residents are now clamoring for the removal of the simian pillagers from the protected species list so they can begin hunting them to control the numbers.

Provincial authorities said the macaques were not at risk of extinction - as shown by their rapid increase - and therefore did not need to be protected. They cited a similar case of wild boars being removed from the list in the past for similar reasons.

A special provincial committee on the monkey population said they will forward a proposal to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to delist the macaques.

Authorities had previously launched a project five years ago to relocate some of the macaques to an island in Phuket some 440 miles away. The initiative was touted as 'successful' and officials were surveying nearby islands to find other suitable habitats for the monkeys.