Illegally registered wild elephants, giving names to wild elephants

A racket of claiming ownership   

        Many rackets are seen taking place in Sri Lanka where properties and assets are concerned. How some of those are put into action is known only to the people in this field. A racket is now in operation where wild elephants are trapped on the sly and are given some names to them and ownership is thus claimed.

       It is a pathetic fact that even support is obtained in this connection by government quarters. This situation has been exposed by the fact that a long-time process being observed by the Ministry of Wild Life Conservation in the case of registration of such elephants. Through this procedure an opportunity is afforded to the racketeers to claim ownership of the elephants and it violates the Fauna and Flora Ordinance, it is reported. The Ministry of Wild Life and a newspaper held a news briefing in Colombo on September 3rd 2013 where it was mentioned that the Ministry has taken steps to levy a license fee of Rs.10 lakhs to register elephants kept in illegal possession and this has paved the way for racketeers to confirm ownership. According to the main and basic interpretation of the Fauna and Flora Ordinance,  1937 No.02 last amended from the Act of 2009 No.22, this Act has been legalised as an Act which prohibits wild life to be made for commercial purposes. Instead of taking into custody the elephants who are being detained illegally and bringing the individuals concerned in the racket to courts and releasing the animals to their natural surroundings under the above circumstances; granting these offenders a legal license by charging them an exorbitant sum of money means that they are encouraged to carry on with this illegal racket, thus turning it into a commercial avenue of gain. Further, this obviously is a bad precedent. In addition, based on this situation, trapping of elephant calfs from their natural habitat could further increase during this grace period. Legal provisions had been issued with regard to registration of elephants under clause 22 (a) of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance with regard to the punishment prescribed by the law to those who retain elephants is clearly stated. According to the clause concerned, the offender would be subject to a punishment of a fine of not less than Rs.1 lakh and not exceeding Rs.2 lakhs or imprisonment of 10 years, not exceeding 20 years or to both.
 
      In addition to this, provisions relevant for the protection of elephants are included in the Ordinance from clause 22 - 29. Further, retention of elephants illegally is an offence against one's conscience. The officers concerned are permitted  are permitted to take such offenders into custody even without a warrant.
      When viewing all this from an analytical perspective it appears that a contradictory situation exists. From the incident where the register containing particulars of elephants were recorded were found missing had thus occurred as a result of providing licences to a large number of elephants that were illegally retained. t is very clearly seen and understood from the present-day data. This is further confirmed from the fact that about 205 elephants and tuskers are at present in the possession of owners of tamed elephants.

      We consider the act of registration of elephants illegally retained as a foolish decision taken to promote the elephant racket as well as eradicating the generation of elephants in our country. On the pretence of putting a  stop to this racket, it is only a further promotion of this same racket that is being launched with a different facelift. During the past 5 years, 250 elephants have died within one year. As a consequence of destroying the habitats of the elephants in a rapid manner for purposes of development activities; division of their abodes and limiting their lodging places is something that is taking place at an equally rapid pace. In the process young elephants or calfs are being trapped in a big way. In this manner, by now about 27 calfs trapped by these racketeers from their natural surroundings illegally are in the possession of various individuals.

     The final result of all this is the fact that elephants in this country would dwindle as a result of removing these animals from the decreasing natural inhabitance which naturally belong to them as their natural surroundings.

     What should be done by the government is to terminate immediately the activity of illegal registration of elephants while simultaneously enforcing legal measures against those responsible for those acts, thereby rehabilitating these animals in a proper manner across the 'Eth Athuru Sevana' in Uda Walawe thus making arrangements to release these animals to their original surroundings.

Source and narration -- Sajeewa Chamikara (Environmental Protection Trust)