The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage will be developed into an elephant research centre and breeding facility, Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi said on Monday.
Patabendi made the announcement at a media briefing in Colombo, saying the proposed development was expected to strengthen elephant research, conservation and breeding efforts in Sri Lanka, Ada Derana reported. He did not give a timeline or specify what new infrastructure or research mandates the centre would carry.
The minister also said a committee would be appointed in the future to review the use of domesticated elephants for cultural activities and to take appropriate policy decisions in that regard. The review would cover the regime governing tame elephants used in religious processions and other public ceremonies — an area regulated under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance and the subject of recurring litigation over registration and welfare.
Pinnawala, run by the Department of National Zoological Gardens since 1975, is one of the largest captive elephant facilities in the world and houses orphaned, abandoned and injured calves. The minister’s framing positions it as a national research hub rather than a purely tourist attraction.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of policy churn on the domesticated-elephant register. The Cabinet revoked a series of earlier decisions on domesticated elephants in May, citing the need for a clean regulatory baseline, and the Court of Appeal has been hearing several writ petitions concerning the wildlife department’s handling of human-elephant conflict mitigation. The wild population has continued to suffer heavy losses, with elephant deaths from human-wildlife conflict topping 128 by late May.
