HAKKA PATAS TRAGEDY IN ANURADHAPURA

Many kinds of animals including pregnant cattle have been most cruelly killed
The usage of ‘Hakka Patas’ in the Anuradhapura district to kill Elephants have affected the lives of many other kinds of animals, in the likes of cattle, dogs, deer, dogs, buffalos, pigs etc. This is reported as a calamity which had not drawn the attention of the Wild life Conservation Authorities. This had been originally done to protect the wild elephants in the Anuradhapua district in destroying the paddy and Chena cultivations of the farmers.
However it is now reliably learnt and reported a group of people who hunt for flesh of animals have taken advantage of this Hakka Patas operation for their benefit. As a result many other kinds of animals have paid for their lives. Many pathetic incidents have been reported with great distress and damage. These incidents have been reported from Wewpitiwela and Badawetiya villages in the Anuradhapura district.
A few days ago in Galgamuwa District Secretarial Division in the Kohamabilankulama village, a Hakka Patas placed had caused injuries to milking cow expecting a baby cow. After injuries caused to the neck had resulted in profuse bleeding had succumbed to death which could be regarded as a real calamity in the usage of Hakka Patas.
The scene how the expectant mother cow suffered and died was seen by many villages that became very sorrowful about the pathetic and unfortunate manner the cow succumbed to death. Several other similar incidents too have been reported. These have been mainly owing to the traps laid by animal flesh hunters to earn money.
These Hakka Patas are placed in jungles and near the places like canals where animals come to drink water. The Hakka Patas are placed inside ‘wattakka’ fruit, mixes with dry fish, sprats, ‘kekiri’ etc. The villages are very angry and feel very sad about this pathetic exercise. They are very concerned, yet the Authorities of the Wild Life Conservation have not taken any action with regard to the deaths of so many animals in such cruel manner, it is reported.