Wake-up call on human elephant conflict and animal cruelty

IT’S indeed heartbreaking to learn the plight of wild elephants in Sri Lanka and the extent of horror and cruelty unleashed upon them that continue to go unabated over the years. The spate of recent coldblooded, indiscriminate and brutal killing of elephants has set off alarm bells in the highest echelon of the NPP Government with a clarion call to investigate such dastardly acts and bring perpetrators to book.

- By Sarath Dissanayake

So much so, the deputy minister in charge of wildlife conservation last week had to face a barrage of questions and concerns on the subject with no clear answers given as yet.

Animal cruelty at its worst

A case in point is the gruesome fate of the iconic Tusker Bhathiya who had endured a traumatic death with multiple gunshot wounds on 15 July that brought tears to many. Bhathiya’s death sparked a public outcry and revulsion among people across the country, raising concerns about the catastrophic consequences of human-elephant conflict and calling upon the authorities to ensure protection and safety of elephants, both in the wild and in captivity. It’s a pity, cruelty against elephants knows no bounds and often involves ill-treatment, injuries and trauma due to dire living conditions, chaining, physical and psychological abuse, exploitation for religious, tourism and entertainment purposes, fatalities due to gunshot wounds, poisoning and so on which often go unnoticed and unpunished

Indiscriminate killing spree of wild animals

Brutality and senseless violence against elephants and other wild animals unfortunately has taken a turn for the worse in recent times. The most recent cases being (1) the shocking discovery of elephant carcasses and skeletons in protected areas surrounding natural habitats under suspicious circumstances recently, and (2) killing of a pregnant deer for meat — blamed on two police constables just few days ago. The twin acts of cruelty appears to have taken the rulers by utter shock prompting authorities to crack down on wrongdoers. On the latter instance, the perpetrators have been caught red-handed thanks to vigilant villagers, who, in turn had turned the alleged killers to the police with evidence that saw the cops being produced in courts and remanded pending further investigation.