PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) will be looking into a video widely circulating of a man feeding poison-laced food to endangered long-tail macaques.
Earlier, Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim labelled the man’s actions as a form of animal cruelty.
“Any action taken will depend on the investigation.
“If found guilty, offenders may face a fine of no less than RM50,000 and no more than RM100,000, imprisonment up to three years, or both,“ the department was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
Meanwhile, Animal Neighbours Project head and founder Dr Sharmini Paramasivam said the type of poison and its dosage can affect the level of animal cruelty and effectiveness.
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She reportedly confirmed that a few individuals and herself have attempted to find out about the type poison used and its ingredients but are unable to get a breakthrough so far.
“So, we don’t really know what the effect of the poison is.
“I also don’t know what dose this guy is giving. This is obviously going to cause harm or suffering to the animals,” Sharmini was quoted as saying.
Previously, Harian Metro reported that the man claimed to have imported the poison from Thailand.
He believes this method of feeding the endangered wildlife poison-laced foods can curb the issue of farmers’ crops being damaged, causing losses amounting to thousands of ringgit.
Perhilitan states that deliberately poisoning or killing protected wildlife is an offence according to Act 716 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
