PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of an animal rights group and an activist in their lawsuit against the wildlife and national parks department (Perhilitan) and the government over the killing of dusky leaf monkeys in Port Dickson.
The appellants’ lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Simran Kaur said in a statement that a three-member Court of Appeal panel, led by Justice Choo Kah Sing, ruled that the High Court had erred in finding that Perhilitan officers were legally justified in killing the monkeys based on a perceived threat.
They said the court held that even if one dusky leaf monkey had posed a threat, it was wholly disproportionate and unlawful to eliminate the entire group.
“The evidence did not support the contention that such extensive lethal action was necessary,” they said.
“On the contrary, the scale of the killings was inconsistent with Perhilitan’s statutory mandate to preserve and conserve wildlife.”
In 2024, the High Court had dismissed a lawsuit filed by Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia (Hidup) and activist Nurul Azreen Sultan, who had contended that Perhilitan’s culling of dusky leaf monkeys at Taman Raja Zainal, Port Dickson, on May 19, 2021, was unlawful.
No order as to costs was made.
Justices Firuz Jaffril and Nadzarin Wok Nordin sat on the panel with Choo.
Perhilitan had previously denied culling 20 monkeys, saying it had only killed seven aggressive monkeys that frequently disturbed residents in the area.
It said its officials were forced to kill the monkeys after attempts to capture the animals were unsuccessful.
