GOMBAK: A resident of an apartment building in Batu Caves has filed a report against the wildlife protection and national parks department (Perhilitan) for allegedly culling wild monkeys in the vicinity.
KS Avatar Singh, the resident and former chairman of SunwayMas apartment’s joint management body (JMB), alleged that he saw three plainclothes Perhilitan officers carrying out the operation on June 13.
“There were three men in plain clothes standing beside a four-wheel drive with a Perhilitan sticker and they were shooting the monkeys with their rifles,” the 59-year-old said in his report.
Avatar also alleged that some of the monkeys had been caught, put in a cage and shot at point-blank range.
He told reporters outside the Gombak district police headquarters (IPD) here that Perhilitan failed to notify residents that they intended to shoot the monkeys, causing panic among the residents, who were shocked upon hearing gunshots.
He also claimed that the area reeked of an unpleasant smell as several carcasses were left behind.
According to Avatar, at least 20 monkeys were “murdered” there.
Meanwhile, Lawyers for Animal Rights founder Rajesh Nagarajan described the operation as an “atrocity against the monkeys.”
He said it was against the law for Perhilitan to kill the macaques as they were protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act being a protected species.
Rajesh added that Perhilitan should have caught and relocated them instead.
On June 15, the NGO urged Perhilitan to act against its officers who allegedly culled the wild monkeys at Batu Caves recently.
A series of videos had gone viral on Facebook showing Perhilitan officers being reprimanded by a resident for allegedly killing the monkeys.
FMT has reached out to Perhilitan for comment.