Court of Appeal calls for urgent action on human-elephant conflict

Colombo, April 27 (Daily Mirror) - The Court of Appeal today stressed the urgent need to address the escalating human-elephant conflict in the country, highlighting the importance of immediate and effective intervention by relevant authorities.

Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya emphasised that the Department of Wildlife Conservation must take appropriate measures to minimise the conflict, particularly by regulating the use of illegal electric fences. He observed that elephants are regarded as a national treasure and public property, and therefore must be protected.

Justice Abeysuriya made these observations when a writ petition seeking a directive to compel authorities to identify and remove illegal electric fences was taken up before the Court. The petition aims to strengthen efforts toward the protection and conservation of elephants.

Appearing for the petitioner, Attorney-at-Law Kalpanee Dissanayake submitted that a motion filed by the Attorney General outlining steps taken to mitigate the human-elephant conflict had failed to address the key concerns raised in the petition. She submiited to court that the issue of regulating illegal electric fences, including the absence of a clearly defined permissible voltage, remains unresolved.

After considering the submissions, the Court of Appeal directed that the Director General of Wildlife Conservation or a senior representative appear before Court on the next hearing date. The respondent official has been instructed to apprise the Court of the measures taken to effectively address the human-elephant conflict, including steps to regulate unauthorised electric fencing.

The petition was fixed for June 2 by a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal comprising Justice (President) Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando.

The petitioner, K. Priyadarshani, President of the Association for the Protection of Elephants and Tuskers, filed this petition, naming the Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, M.G.C. Sooriyabandara, Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi, the Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board and several others as respondents.