A man has been fined Rs 310,000 by the Kahatagasdigiliya Magistrate’s Court over a trap gun allegedly set to injure a wild elephant, the Department of Wildlife Conservation said.
The suspect was arrested on October 24 by wildlife officers patrolling the boundary of the Kokebe Forest Reserve, in the Kahatagasdigiliya Divisional Secretariat Division of the Anuradhapura district. The department said the trap gun had been set along the edge of private land and was intended to harm a wild elephant.
The patrol was led by M.A.K.S. Dissanayake, Site Assistant at the Kahatagasdigiliya Wildlife Beat Office. Officers recovered the weapon at the scene.
The suspect was produced before the Kahatagasdigiliya Magistrate’s Court on October 25 along with the seized firearm, and was fined following the proceedings. The charges covered both setting the trap gun and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Trap guns — improvised firearms rigged to discharge when an animal disturbs a tripwire — are among the methods used against elephants that raid cultivations in the dry zone, alongside explosive-laden bait known as hakka patas and illegal electric fencing. They are indiscriminate, and have killed and maimed people as well as animals.
The prosecution comes against a heavy toll. Parliament was told in October that 455 wild elephants died in 2025 — roughly one in every sixteen alive. Enforcement has been stepped up through the year, including joint raids with the tri-forces and an operations room for elephant protection, and a wildlife raid at Galgamuwa in October over hakka patas.
Not reported: The filing does not name the suspect, give his age or occupation, state the statutory provisions under which the fine was imposed, or say whether the elephant the trap was set for was harmed.