So, sort of related https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos_release_notes/macos_catalina_10_15_release_notes, looks like perl doesn't fit in with the future of MacOS out of the box at least:

"Scripting language runtimes such as Python, Ruby, and Perl are included in macOS for compatibility with legacy software. Future versions of macOS won’t include scripting language runtimes by default, and might require you to install additional packages. If your software depends on scripting languages, it’s recommended that you bundle the runtime within the app."