Animal lovers slam culling of monkeys in Perak

KUALA LUMPUR - Residents had been complaining about the nuisance caused by wild monkeys and squirrels in a district in Perak, and the state wildlife department allowed a competition to kill the animals.

Several members of the people's vigilante corps Rela took part in the competition, killing 97 primates and 15 squir- rels.

The tails of killed monkys and squirrels are laid out to be counted by these Perak vigilante corps members hoping to win food hampers and other prizes. -- THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Among those killed were dusky leaf monkeys, a protected species.

After shooting the animals, the 80 Rela members cut off the tails to count how many they had killed so as to choose the winners. The prizes included food hampers.

But the event prompted an uproar among animal-lovers groups such as the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF) and the Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Malay Mail quoted Dr Dionysius Sharma, WWF's senior unit head of species conservation, as saying that it was an offence to shoot any protected animal.

He said that to cull wildlife and cut off their tails for the sake of competition is inhumane.

'The animals should instead be captured and relocated to appropriate areas, while an assessment of their survival in the new area should also be done,' he said.

He suggested the use of biological controls or other humane means to deter wildlife from entering a village or plantation.

He said one way is to use a predator to scare the monkeys away.

'Many a time, wild animals are forced to enter villages or plantations to rummage for food because their natural habitat is threatened or destroyed,' he said.

He called on the authorities to investigate the matter.