The Court of Appeal has directed the Department of Wildlife Conservation to appear in court and explain the measures taken to reduce human-elephant conflict, including the removal and regulation of illegal electric fences.
The order, issued by Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando, requires the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, or a responsible representative, to appear in person on the next hearing date.
The directive came during proceedings on a writ petition filed by the Association for the Protection of Elephants seeking court-ordered regulation of illegal electric fences erected by farmers and landowners as a defensive measure against elephant intrusions into populated areas.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that an earlier motion filed by the Attorney General, which set out steps the government said had been taken to reduce the conflict, did not address core concerns. Among the unresolved issues, counsel said, was the absence of any legally permitted voltage standard for electric fences and the broader regulatory gap around illegal fencing.
The bench observed that finding solutions to the human-elephant conflict was an urgent necessity that required the immediate attention of the relevant authorities. The court further stressed that elephants, recognised as both public property and a national asset, must be protected by those legally responsible for their conservation and safety.
Sri Lanka’s human-elephant conflict has produced one of the highest annual death tolls in the world for both species. Unregulated fences carry currents strong enough to electrocute elephants, while encroachment on traditional elephant corridors has driven herds into farms, plantations and villages. The Department of Wildlife Conservation has cited resource and personnel constraints in past public statements on enforcement. A separate Wildlife-CAA agreement at Mattala addressed conflict zones near the airport, and three people were killed in wild elephant attacks across Sri Lanka in April alone.
Source: NewsFirst.
