Gibbon rehab centre owner loses custody of six gibbons to Perhilitan
Mariani Ramli, the owner of a gibbon conservation centre, has lost custody of six gibbons that were previously under her care.
This comes after she lost a protracted court battle against the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
Her lawyer Jessica Binwani confirmed that the Federal Court had on Sept 22 dismissed Mariani’s application for leave to challenge a previous Court of Appeal decision in her unfair dismissal claim against the department.
Back in 2016, Mariani - a former Perhilitan ranger - took the department to court after it terminated her employment and withdrew...
Mariani Ramli, the owner of a gibbon conservation centre, has lost custody of six gibbons that were previously under her care.
This comes after she lost a protracted court battle against the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
Her lawyer Jessica Binwani confirmed that the Federal Court had on Sept 22 dismissed Mariani’s application for leave to challenge a previous Court of Appeal decision in her unfair dismissal claim against the department.
Back in 2016, Mariani - a former Perhilitan ranger - took the department to court after it terminated her employment and withdrew her permit to possess the six gibbons.
Gibbons are classified as wild animals.
The High Court ruled in her favour but the Court of Appeal set aside the judgment on Nov 15, 2020.
The three-member Federal Court panel was led by Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf and comprised Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Mary Lim Thiam Suan.
No order as to costs was made.
Mariani (above) was represented by Jessica, Gurdial Singh Nijar, A Theivanai, R Ramitra and Abraham Au.
The respondents including Perhiltan were represented by senior federal counsel Rohaiza Hamzah and Iznie Elyanna Zainal.
Rehabilitate them properly
Commenting on the Federal Court's decision, Mariani expressed sadness that she had lost custody of the six gibbons whom she had named Daru, Daly, Betsy, Lola, Chantiq and Bella.
She also hoped Perhilitan would rehabilitate them properly.
“It saddens me to inform you that I have recently lost the case in Federal Court and have lost custody of Daru, Daly, Betsy, Lola, Bella and Chantiq in the process.
“Please keep your thoughts and prayers with them as they have been through so much.
“I sincerely hope that the department will give them the proper rehabilitation they need, as they are not ready to be released yet.
"They will not survive in the wild if they are released without completing their rehabilitation,” she said on Facebook.
Second offspring
Elaborating, Mariani detailed what each gibbon had been through before they were rescued along with what progress they had made while under her care at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (Grep) site.
“Every single one of them should not be released before they have completed their rehabilitation. When they are ready, they must be paired with a suitable mate and have a child.
“They also need to be monitored for a minimum of 12 months after release to ensure their ability to survive in the wild.
"Only when they have had a second offspring in the wild, can they be considered a successful release,” she stressed.
READ MORE: Mariani Ramli's life mission to help gibbons sing again
In late December 2020, Perhilitan raided Grep’s site in Pahang three times and confiscated the six gibbons.
Mariani had cried foul over the lack of a warrant while Perhilitan contended that it did not need one to conduct the raids.
The department also stressed that the gibbons had been confiscated in a responsible manner without the use of sedatives.
Perhilitan also said it would implement a “rewilding process” before releasing the gibbons to the wild.
The six gibbons have remained under the department’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Sungkai, Perak, ever since the raids.
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