More than 20 snares set to trap wild animals have been seized by the Sri Lanka Army and the Department of Wildlife Conservation at the reserve attached to Jathika Namal Uyana, on the second day of the ‘Hasthi Sena’ operation.
The sweep was carried out on Tuesday in the North-Western wildlife zone, under the leadership of Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi, with the stated aim of protecting elephants’ lives and reducing threats to wild animals, Hiru News reported.
Senior officers joined the operation, among them Major General Kaminda Silva of the 21st Division, Brigadier Basnayake, commanding the 212th Brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Abeywickrama.
What was seized — and what was not
The items taken into custody were snares set for hunting wild animals, not animals. No elephants were captured, and the filing reports none.
This distinction matters because the English-language headline and URL carried on the source filing state that “over 20 elephants” were “taken into custody by the army” at a “Namal National Park reserve”. The Sinhala text of the same report says the opposite: the Army and the Department of Wildlife Conservation took into custody more than 20 snares set for hunting wild animals (වන සතුන් දඩයම් කිරීම සදහා ඇටවූ මදු 20කට අධික සංඛ්යාවක්). The photograph published with the report shows soldiers and a civilian official on a roadside in scrub country, with no elephants and no capture operation in view.
The location is also misnamed in that headline. Jathika Namal Uyana is the ironwood forest and rose-quartz reserve declared a National Heritage site — not a national park, and unconnected to any person of that name.
The operation so far
‘Hasthi Sena’ was launched on 2 November as a joint Ministry of Environment, Army and Wildlife Department effort against the illegal firearms, hakka patas explosive baits, unauthorised electric fences and snares that kill elephants. Sixty troops in ten teams began at Galkiriyagama, focusing on 17 at-risk elephants, and seized firearms, traps and hakka-patas on the first day.
The operation runs against a steady toll. This desk has reported a tusker shot dead at Kahatagasdigiliya with its tusk removed, and a protest at the Presidential Secretariat demanding action on elephant deaths.
Not reported
The filing does not give the exact number of snares, say whether anyone was arrested, identify the divisional secretariat within the reserve, or state how many teams took part on Tuesday. Hiru News was the only verified newsroom reachable with this day’s filing — Ada Derana, which has covered earlier days of the operation, returned 403 from this desk.