diff --git a/Modules/FindPerlLibs.cmake b/Modules/FindPerlLibs.cmake
index 884af6ec9..50a5629ad 100644
--- a/Modules/FindPerlLibs.cmake
+++ b/Modules/FindPerlLibs.cmake
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ SET(PERL_POSSIBLE_LIB_PATHS
 FIND_PATH(PERL_INCLUDE_PATH perl.h
   ${PERL_POSSIBLE_INCLUDE_PATHS})
 
+# find the perl executable
+INCLUDE(FindPerl)
 
-FIND_PROGRAM(PERL_EXECUTABLE perl )
 
 IF(PERL_EXECUTABLE)
   EXEC_PROGRAM(${PERL_EXECUTABLE}