Perhilitan's killing of dusky leaf monkeys unlawful, rules appellate court

 

The Court of Appeal today found the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) was in the wrong when its officers shot and killed a group of dusky leaf monkeys in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan in 2021.

According to lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, a panel of three judges made the finding when it allowed an appeal by activist Nurul Azreen Sultan against Perhilitan and four others.

He said the Court of Appeal found that the Seremban High Court had erred when it concluded that the Perhilitan officers were legally entitled to kill the primate over its purported aggressive behaviour.

"The court found that even if there had been a threat posed by a single dusky leaf monkey, it was wholly disproportionate and unlawful to eliminate an entire group of animals.

"The evidence did not support the contention that such extensive lethal action was necessary.

"On the contrary, the scale of the killing demonstrated conduct inconsistent with the statutory mandate of Perhilitan, whose core function is the preservation and conservation of wildlife.

"The wholesale destruction of the group was antithetical to that purpose," he said in a statement.

Rajesh Nagarajan

The appeal was presided by judges Choo Kah Sing, Firuz Jaffril and Nadzarin Wok Nordin.

20 primates killed

On July 23, 2021, Azreen and animal rights group Pertubuhan Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) filed a civil action over the culling of allegedly 20 dusky leaf monkeys.

The incident allegedly happened behind Azreen's home at Taman Raja Zainal, Port Dickson, on May 19, 2021.

Perhilitan, however, denied accusations that it killed 20 of the endangered animals and clarified that the department had only killed seven monkeys that had been disruptive in the area, as previously reported by Free Malaysia Today.

They also added that none of the dusky leaf monkeys killed were juveniles.

Perhilitan previously said it had considered all angles and had attempted to trap the monkeys unsuccessfully before the culling occurred.

Dusky leaf monkeys are protected as endangered species under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

The lawsuit brought by Azreen and Hidup, however, was thrown out by judicial commissioner Haldar Abdul Aziz on Oct 30, 2024.

Following this, the activist filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal in December 2024. - Mkini