The Animal Neighbours project is the brainchild of veterinarian, Sharmini Julita Paramasivam who started the project to increase the awareness about coexisting harmoniously with wildlife.
The idea to start a project started in Malaysia in 2014, following an outcry about macaques being killed inhumanely. Macaques were reported to be encroaching human settlements and were being considered ‘pest’. Having worked with macaques for several years in Indonesia, Sharmini felt that more needed to be done to understand the situation and create an action plan for a long term sustainable solution.
Following a change of opportunities in 2016, ANP became an official project at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey. Through a crowdfunding effort, the project raised funds to kick start its first education and awareness about human wildlife conflict in the UK and Malaysia.
The project continues the research in Malaysia through grants and is looking to forge new collaborations to research and educate on human wildlife interface.
