The Seremban High Court threw out an application by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to strike out a lawsuit over the culling of dusky leaf monkeys.
Following today’s court ruling, the civil action by animal rights group Pertubuhan Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) is set to go for a full hearing for four days beginning Jan 8, 2024.
Counsel Rajesh Nagarajan, who appeared for Hidup, confirmed the decision delivered by Azizul earlier today.
“Perhilitan’s (and the ministry’s) application for striking out has been dismissed today by the Seremban High Court.
“The presiding judge Azizul Azmi Adnan fixed trial dates on Jan 8 to 11, 2024.
“This is a huge victory for the rights of dusky leaf monkeys in Malaysia and Perhilitan will have to justify the mass killings of the dusky leaf monkeys in Port Dickson,” the lawyer told Malaysiakini.
Rajesh added that among the grounds cited in the authorities’ striking-out bid was that the civil action was frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of court process.
Under the law for civil actions, a successful striking-out bid would lead to the court not proceeding to hear submissions from opposing parties over the merits of the lawsuit.
Malaysiakini is attempting to reach the legal team for Perhilitan and the ministry over today’s outcome
On July 23 last year, it was reported that a 28-year-old individual and Hidup had filed the suit against Perhilitan and the ministry over the culling of dusky leaf monkeys two months earlier.
The civil action was filed over the allegation that Perhilitan officers had killed 20 of the endangered monkeys at Taman Raja Zainal, Port Dickson earlier on May 19.
During a press conference, Rajesh claimed that previous political negotiations and petitions filed by animal rights and wildlife rights advocates had proven ineffective.
He added that with the help of animal rights lawyers, Hidup is seeking recourse from the judiciary in bringing forth cases of wildlife abuse.
According to animal rights lawyer Sachpreetraj Sohanpal, the case represents a historical first where animal rights activists have taken wildlife authorities to court over wildlife issues.
The virtual presser featured the two plaintiffs, restaurant owner Nurul Azreen Sultan and Hidup, and four lawyers from Lawyers for Animal Rights.
Culling caused by ‘attack’
On May 19, 2021, Azreen - who is an eyewitness to the incident - claimed that around 10am, she heard a loud bang outside her house.
Not long after the noise first started, a neighbour approached her, saying that there were people who were shooting monkeys not far from her house.
She claimed, however, that the Perhilitan officers fled once she arrived at the site of the cull.
When her father later contacted Perhilitan over the incident, they were told that Perhilitan was acting on a public complaint made about a teacher who was allegedly attacked by a dusky leaf monkey.
However, this was disputed by Azreen, who claimed that the monkeys had been co-existing with the residents peacefully and that the Port Dickson Hospital and the local clinic did not report any recent cases similar to what was described by Perhilitan.
Perhilitan has since 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.
Hidup representative Sharifah Sofia claimed that there were alternative solutions to solving the issue of the “problematic” monkeys - which includes tranquilising, translocation, and rehabilitation.
Perhilitan previously said that it had considered all angles and had attempted to trap the monkeys unsuccessfully before the culling occurred.
The dusky leaf monkeys are protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 as endangered species, which provides for the protection and conservation of wildlife. - Mkini
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