More vets to Wildlife Department

By Nilma DOLE

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“We have obtained approval from the Treasury to increase our wildlife veterinary staff from 6 to 11 throughout the country”, said the Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) Ananda Wijesooriya. He said that an examination set up by the Animal Health Service Department under the Livestock Development Ministry will determine the recruitment process into the DWLC.

“We have also sent some of our vets to USA for training in wildlife aspects to obtain better expertise”, he said. Despite allegations that the DWLC officials aren’t looking into wildlife issues, the Deputy General said that it was due to the fact they are presently understaffed and lack resources to effectively carry out duties. “We are financially unstable to address wildlife problems”, said Wijesooriya.

Recently, a three-year-old male leopard succumbed to its injuries earlier this week when it was found in a trap near the Nanu Oya/Nuwara Eliya area.

The trap was set up by a local resident displaying how unfortunate that the leopards have been long-suffering in the human-animal conflict, making them an endangered species. Says eye-witness Sunil Hettiarachchi who observed this incident, “It was evident that the wildlife officials who took the injured leopard lack basic resources and the nearest vet had to take a 10 hour drive from the Wasgamuwa National Park to attend to it.”

However, if treatment by a wildlife doctor was given promptly, the leopard would be alive today, he said.