Activist cried on seeing endangered monkeys culled, court hears

A Negeri Sembilan native cried upon seeing several Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers fatally shoot dusky leaf monkeys nearly three years ago.

In her witness statement to support her lawsuit against Perhilitan and four other defendants, Nurul Azreen Sultan expressed her reaction to seeing the culling of the endangered animals behind her home at Taman Raja Zainal, Port Dickson, on May 19, 2021.

“I cried and was shocked on seeing the fourth defendant (Perhilitan) going against its duty as a body tasked with the caring, managing, and safeguarding of wildlife.

“The defendants (who are five in total) had intentionally and purposefully carried out an operation to cull the dusky leaf monkeys,” the plaintiff said in her testimony, read out during the full trial of the suit before the Seremban High Court that began yesterday.

According to the witness statement, Azreen claimed that she had heard sounds of multiple gunshots behind her house around 10am on the day of the incident, prompting her to rush out to see what was causing it.

The resident, together with her neighbour who had also come out to see what was happening, testified seeing several uniformed Perhilitan officers shooting a group of dusky monkeys on trees located 70-80m behind the house.

She claimed at least 20 monkeys were shot dead, with most of the dead animals having fallen to the ground.

The 30-year-old said officers then collected the carcasses and put them in several gunny sacks.

The activist said when her father contacted Perhilitan to enquire about the incident, a department representative allegedly in a complacent manner explained that the monkeys should be killed before they could attack people.

“I also lodged a police report on the incident,” Azreen said.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, her counsel Rajesh Nagarajan confirmed she had been cross-examined by the defendants’ legal representatives during the full trial before judicial commissioner Mohamad Haldar Abdul Aziz.

Under the law, cross-examination is the act of the opposing party questioning a witness during a trial to test the credibility of his or her testimony.

‘Animals were aggressive’

The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry is among the defendants, who are all represented by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The defendants, in their statement of defence, contended that the culling of the monkeys was on the heels of public complaints lodged over the purported aggressive behaviour of the animals.

The defendants claimed that they received public complaints about several incidents of monkey attacks on people and damage to property since January 2021.

They cited one incident around 11am on Jan 19 that year, where a woman staying at Kuarters Pendidikan Seri Sentosa, Port Dickson, was allegedly attacked by a dusky leaf monkey that pulled her as well as scratched her.

They cited another incident around 1.15pm two days later, where a similar animal had behaved aggressively and tried to attack a man staying at the same quarters when he tried to shoo the animal.

They cited a third incident around 4.35pm on the same day (Jan 21, 2021), where the creature allegedly bit a woman on the head.

The defendants also denied the culling involved 20 dusky leaf monkeys in May 2021, saying only seven such animals were culled.

They contended that the seven culled were identified as the ones that had attacked several people at the quarters earlier that year.

The defendants would be calling their own witnesses to testify on their version of events in the course of the full trial.

On July 23, 2021, it was reported that Azreen and co-plaintiff-cum-animal rights group Pertubuhan Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) had filed the civil action against Perhilitan and the ministry over the alleged culling of 20 dusky leaf monkeys.

In a previous 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.

Lawsuit against Perhilitan ‘a historical first’

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 press conference featured the two plaintiffs, restaurant owner Azreen and Hidup, and four lawyers from Lawyers for Animal Rights.

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 under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 as endangered species, which provides for the protection and conservation of wildlife.

In December 2022, the High Court denied the defendants’ bid to nullify the civil action without it being subjected to a full trial.

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