Ministry: Culling of monkeys 'not new', probe ordered

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment [NRE] has launched an investigation in regards to allegations that large number of monkeys have been culled inhumanely by enforcement authorities.

NRE minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said that he has directed the probe in response to the allegation by several animal rights NGOs that the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) culled close to 100,000 macaques last year.

“I saw the statement on this matter, but this culling is not a new issue, and not a new programme. We have been doing it for quite several years already,” Douglas told Astro Awani today.

Douglas explained that monkeys have caused a lot of menace and is the result of “human-animal conflict”.

“We have complaints from people in Selangor. The farmers are also affected by increase in the population of these animals, so we have to minimise their numbers,” he said.

Douglas said that he was perplexed that the issue has cropped up at this time as a few years ago government officials had dialogues with NGOs on the matter, and “we all agreed that one of the most humane strategy was to do culling”.

“Of course the accusation is that we have adopted very cruel tactics,” said Douglas, who added that the report he received from Perhilitan is that they are not aware of such tactics.

“If NGOs can give us the place and location [where the alleged cruelty occurred] probably Perhilitan can look further,” he added.

“Nevertheless I have requested my ministry to investigate. The BN [Barisan Nasional] government is equally concerned that whatever that we are doing, it must be done in the proper [manner],” he said.

Asked about the statement by PKR vicepresident N. Surendran that the Selangor state government adopts a “no-kill policy”, Douglas said that such issues comes under federal power, through Perhilitan, and not the state.

On Tuesday, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) called for a humane solution to the macaque problem, proposing sterilisation and trans-location.

In the press conference organised by PKR, it was alleged that 97,300 macaques were culled last year, which amounts to over 250 killed one day.

Selangor, according to Surendran, had recorded the highest number of killings, at a staggering 18,800.