Published on : Sunday, March 9, 2014
Elephant activists raised concern over the baby elephant found tied at Meerigama Kandalama Walawwa recently, arguing that he was captured illegitimately from the forest as the documents of the calf were found to be forged and the authorization produced in court was achieved two and a half years ago.
It is suspected that the elephant baby had been captured in the Habarana forest which is supposed to be the centre of this racket.
The region being in the centre of three National Parks, namely, Minneriya, Kawdulla and Hurulu, has a high number of elephants.
Transferring jumbos used for safaris to and from Habarana are also a familiar incidence which makes it a perfect land to carry out abductions.
Buddha Sasana Deputy Minister recently disclosed that 63 elephant calves were stolen from the Habarana forest area, while the Wildlife Resources and Conservation Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Soysa said that they were finding it difficult to restrain illegal elephant trafficking due to the lack of a proper legal system on the matter and proposed registering the elephants calves following a DNA test as a solution.
The proposal to register the baby elephants following a DNA test as the animal was under a huge threat is welcomed by the elephant activists, as networks operate a grasping deal in wild elephants to meet the demands of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
Tourism is considered as a cause in the growing illegal capture of wild elephants locally and transporting them.
If these lethal movements persist, the Sri Lankan elephant population could very well be wiped out in the near future, Wildlife conservationists warned.
Tags: Destination News
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