Human-Elephant conflict, the worst animal cruelty

Sri Lanka records the highest number of elephant deaths in the world. The year 2023 marked one of the worst in recent memory, with 488 elephants killed and 182 human deaths reported due to the conflict. By mid-2024, another 388 elephants had already perished. (Dr Vipula Wanigasekera). According to Wildlife Director General Ranjan Marasinghe, a total of 245 elephants have died this year due to various causes. Among them, 38 were electrocuted, while 13 were fatally struck by trains. The annual toll may exceed 500 lives of elephants by year-end.

- BY RAJASINGHE BANDARA

Despite shocking revelations made by the media of the alarming figures of elephant deaths and animal cruelty no government had taken serious steps to address the Human-elephant conflict. Between 2015 and 2024, over 3,484 elephants have died due to this conflict, along with 1,195 human lives lost (VOA News, 2024).

Voters in the last general election have given the biggest ever mandate to The National People's Power (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to address the critical national issues. Human-elephant conflict must be among them.

Here are some sensitive stories about human cruelty from the recent past.

On 29th May 2020, Sri Lanka lost an extremely rare Black Panther, one of the most beautiful animals in the world, after being caught in a human trap. Had the authorities including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa taken necessary precautions to protect it, the magnificent beast would have been a pride and glamour of our mother nature.

The tragic death of the black leopard was a wake-up call to our authorities about the tragedy of Sri Lankan wildlife. Sadly, even after the incident many beautiful leopards, elephants including baby elephants became victims of the human traps, snares and poisoning. In September 2019 seven elephants were found dead of suspected poisoning. Every year, nearly 400 elephants get killed by gunshot wounds or trapped guns or ‘Jaw Exploders’ notoriously known as Hakka Patas. On the other hand, every year around 100 people from the farming villages are killed by wild elephants, which also destroy their livelihood. This is not a story about numbers; instead, it is about how they die and why they die.