Total of 298 elephants electrocuted since 2018: Wildlife Dept.

Colombo, March 20 (Daily Mirror) - The Wildlife Conservation Department has reported a total of 298 elephants falling victim to electrocution since 2018.

They attributed the elephants' deaths to the installation of various obstacles and traps, including substandard electric fences intended to restrict the movement of wild animals or target wild elephants and other wildlife for lethal purposes.

Reports indicate that 72 elephants were killed in 2023, followed by 50 in 2022, 66 in 2021, 31 in 2020, 41 in 2019, and 38 in 2018.

The main factors contributing to elephant deaths by electrocution include the use of land by local communities in areas prone to human-elephant conflicts, as well as the growing prevalence of personal electric fences.

Consequently, efforts were directed towards enhancing law enforcement measures targeting the use of electricity to harm wild elephants and other animals, as well as preventing the unauthorized construction of electric fences lacking proper standards and the setting of various barriers and traps.

During sudden inspections carried out between January 1st and March 10th, Wildlife officers discovered 2,009 personal electric fences, with 583 (29.02%) found to have faults.

However, owners were promptly instructed to rectify these faults. Additionally, 147 electric fences were found to be erected according to the standards set by the Wildlife Department, with no faults detected during inspection.

Owners of faulty electric fences were found to lack sufficient knowledge in their usage, with no intention for their faulty fences to cause harm to animals.