Reprieve for our gentle giants
by Rukshana Rizwie and Dhaneshi Yatawara
Over 250 elephants, environmentalists allege are in the possession of
private owners in Sri Lanka. Rented out for a hefty sum of Rs.3 million
each time and cruelly mistreated, the issue of forging documentations,
missing registry and keeping of illegal calves was for a long time
regarded as the elephant in the room until now.
A committee headed by Retired Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayake
has been appointed to look into the missing elephant registry and
ascertain details pertaining to the illegal elephant owners, Minister of
Sustainable Development and Wildlife Gamini Jayawickrema Perera told
Parliament that the need for a new committee was due to the inefficiency
of the Wildlife Conservation Department.
He invited individuals to forward information regarding persons who
possess elephants without a valid license to the committee which is
expected to commence operations next week.
"Several individuals have been taken into custody for keeping
elephants without licenses and the ministry would take action to arrest
many more in the future. There were rumors that the elephant registry
was last seen at Temple Trees during the previous government.
Laws would be implemented against people who keep elephants
illegally, irrespective of their positions. Laws would also be
implemented against members of the clergy too," he said.
Secretary to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife
R.M.D.B Meegasmulla added that details relating to the committee
including phone numbers and addresses would be published in all
newspapers.
He said that the minister was keen to investigate these claims and
ensure that the elephants which were being illegally kept in homes would
be handed over to authorities who will then place them at the orphanage
or transit homes.
The Minister while responding to a question raised by UNP MP Buddhika
Pathirana stated that four elephants have been located while twenty two
arrests have also been made.
Meanwhile the Department of Wildlife Conservation has already planned
a rescue point for the captured elephants in Uda Walawa.
The home away from home for the rescued elephants located in close
proximity of the Elephant Transit Home will be completed soon, according
to sources from the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife.
Since January 2015, the DWC has rescued nearly 21 elephants from illegal
owners and all of them are calves.
 The spokesperson for the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC)
said that they are constructing a total different environment from the
orphanage or the Transit home. "These are totally tame animals and have
been used to a different way of handling.
The new home can accommodate 22 elephants and extends over a 60 acre
land.
"It will be secured with a two layered fence and the Department is in
the process of recruiting several mahouts who will be capable of
handling tamed elephants," she added.
Early this year, when several illegal entries were detected in the
tamed elephant registry of the DWC, a complaint was made with the
Criminal Investigation Department and the investigations are in
progress.
According to the DWC, the CID initially investigated identified
errant entries in to the registry by conducting site visits. Currently
the CID is working in affiliation with the DWC officials in raiding
illegal owners and rescuing the elephants.
The DWC has identified a total of nearly 70 illegally owned elephants
and 21 are already rescued and the mission continues. |
