Urgent Petition Highlights Dire Elephant Deaths in Sri Lanka

A fundamental rights petition in Sri Lanka has urged the Supreme Court to enforce legal measures to curb elephant deaths and illegal tusk trafficking. With 439 elephants dying in 2022 and 416 already in 2023, the petition highlights varied and disturbing causes of death, including habitat loss.

Highlighting the alarming number of elephant deaths caused by human activities, a fundamental rights petition has demanded the Supreme Court to issue legal measures to deter killings and curb illegal trafficking of elephants and their tusks, a media report said on Wednesday.

"A total of 439 elephants died in 2022, with a further 416 already dead in 2023. The causes of death are varied and disturbing, including shootings, poisoning, electrocution, deadly jaw bombs, train collisions, and a concerning number of unknown causes," the petition said citing data up to November 6, 2023. Loss of habitat is another important cause.

The petition argued that an elephant population census hasn't been conducted since 2011, leaving authorities without an accurate tally in 2024. "This lack of data makes it difficult to assess the true impact of these deaths on the elephant population," NewsFirst.lk said, quoting the petition.

The petitioners have urged authorities to take decisive action and demand (the court) legal measures to deter elephant killings and efforts to curb the illegal trafficking of elephant tusks.

"Elephants hold symbolic, cultural and economic importance in Sri Lanka. They attract tourists who visit national parks to observe elephants in the wild. They support logging operations by dragging felled logs and have special significance in religious events," the WWF said.

According to Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife, the wild elephant population in Sri Lanka has increased up to 7,000 as against the earlier reported number of around 5,600. However, there is no data for recent years.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)