AJITH SIRIWARDANA 
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13 jumbos being treated for gun-shot wounds: Wildlife Department
Colombo, July 17 (Daily Mirror) - In the wake of shocking death of 'Bathiya' tusker, the Wildlife Department yesterday revealed that thirteen more elephants including two tuskers were currently receiving treatment due to gun-shot injuries.
Director Wildlife Health at Department of Wildlife Conservation Tharaka Prasad told a news conference that seven elephants were receiving treatment in Anuradhapura, three in Polonnaruwa, one in Vavuniya and two elephants in the South were being treated for gun-shot injuries.
Clarifying the death of 'Bathiya', he said 'Bathiya' had sustained gun-shot injuries two months ago when the wildlife department was informed of the incident on May 18, 2025 and that the department acted swiftly to treat it where a veterinary surgeons arrived at the scene on May 19 to treat it.
He said 'Bathiya' did not have open wounds when it was inspected except for some healed gun-shot wounds with a lump on its front leg.
Meanwhile, Director General at Department of Wildlife Conservation Ranjan Marasinghe said 17 percent of elephant deaths for the first six months of this year has been reported due to gun-shot injuries.
He said 20 percent of elephant deaths in the country occur due to gun-shot injuries in the Sri Lanka and added that over 90 percent of such deaths are caused by locally made weapons.
The Director General said the department face practical issue in the investigations and taking legal action against culprits as locally made weapons are used in most cases.
He said if legal weapons are used, the government analyst can assess the bullets and weapons and make it easy for investigations.
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