Right to life and hypocrisy

Monday 28th July, 2025

Close on the heels of the discovery of an infant abandoned in a thicket in Mawathagama and the unearthing of the skeletal remains of a child in the Chemmani mass grave, shocking news has emerged about the killing of a pregnant doe in a wildlife reserve in Galewela. Four suspects, including two police sergeants, have been arrested and remanded over the incident. The hunters could not remove the carcasses of the doe in fawn and another deer because a group of vigilant villagers rushed to the scene and protested.

There has reportedly been a sharp increase in the killing of wild animals during recent years. Deputy Minister of Wildlife Anton Jayakody has said that as many as 21 wild elephants have suffered gunshot injuries during the past two months or so. He suspects that an organised group is behind such incidents; reading between the lines, he seems to ascribe them to a political motive.

Sri Lankan politicians are adept at concocting conspiracy theories; they usually see more devils than vast hell can hold, especially when they are overwhelmed by intractable problems. Most of the aforesaid wild elephants were injured by trap guns which are intended to kill game animals, according to wildlife protection groups. Instances abound where villagers shoot marauding wild elephants that destroy their cultivations and pose a danger to their lives. Trains are also responsible for quite a few elephant deaths annually. Perhaps, the only thing that the Railway Department does efficiently is killing wild jumbos! There are also some instances where poachers, engaged in the lucrative ivory trade, kill tuskers. If the human-elephant conflict is resolved or at least contained, the lives of many humans and wild elephants can be saved. Successive governments have tried piecemeal solutions half-heartedly instead of formulating a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem in a sustainable manner. In the name of resolving the issue of wildlife depredations, they have opted for open seasons on crop-raiding animals and issued guns to cultivators. This may have driven farmers to adopt the same method in dealing with wild elephants as well.

On 10 Dec., 2022, we quoted the then Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera as having told a media briefing that the human-elephant conflict had intensified mainly because 16 elephant corridors across the country had been obstructed by illegal settlements and constructions; five such connectivity zones had been encroached on in the Anuradhapura District alone, he said, quoting experts. Highways and railroads also cut across the traditional elephant paths. When their habitats shrink due to human activity, it is only natural that wild elephants invade villages in search of food and water. No action has yet been taken to curb the encroachment on the migratory paths of wild elephants.

Many studies have been conducted on the human-elephant conflict and the causative factors identified. What needs to be done is to implement the solutions proposed by experts. This is the challenge before the incumbent government, which should look beyond measures such as erecting ‘elephant fences’ and issuing firearms to cultivators if it is to find a lasting solution to the human-elephant conflict.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase in the number of wild animals that perish at the hands of hunters due to the thriving illegal bushmeat trade. Game meat is freely available in many areas, especially in the dry zone, as is public knowledge, but precious little is done to curb the supply of it. The Wildlife Department and the police trot out lame excuses for their failure to bust the bushmeat racket.

As for the killing of animals, there are some important ethical and moral questions that one should ask oneself. Is it that animals’ right to life should be protected only within wildlife sanctuaries? Are the thousands of animals — especially cattle, goats, pigs and chickens — which suffer painful deaths in licensed slaughterhouses in this predominantly Buddhist country daily without that sacred right? The same goes for fish. Their lives are precious, too, aren’t they? Who will cry for these creatures and fight for their right to life? Shouldn’t the greatness of a nation and its moral progress be judged by the way its animals are treated, as Mahatma Gandhi has said?

from The Island https://ift.tt/kxYhJQw