Writ petition on elephant protection Tusker Deega Danthu’s death triggers legal battle to remove electric fences

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda   

The Court of Appeal yesterday instructed that direct notices be served on the Minister of Environment, the Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and other state authorities in connection with a writ petition filed seeking an order directing the authorities to detect and remove illegal electric fences to ensure the protection and conservation of elephants.   

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

When the petition was called before Court of Appeal Justice K. Priyantha Fernando, the eighth respondent, the Attorney General, was represented by a State Counsel, who informed court that the Attorney General had not yet been retained by the other respondents.   

Accordingly, the matter was fixed for support on October 16.   

The petitioner stated that Sri Lanka lost 488 elephants in 2023, and by the end of November 2024, a further 354 elephants had been lost. Of these, approximately 72 elephants were killed due to electrocution in 2023, while 49 suffered the same fate in 2024.    The petitioner further submitted that the iconic tusker known as Deega Danthu, aged between 45 and 50 years, who roamed the areas of Kala Wewa, Balalu Wewa, and the surrounding jungles in Kekirawa, was found dead on November 27, 2024, on the land belonging to Disanayaka Mudiyanselage Upul Priyantha Bandara, located in the Palagala, Inguruwewa area.   

According to reports filed before the Magistrate’s Court, it is evident that Deega Danthu was killed due to electrocution caused by an illegally constructed electric fence powered by a battery and connected to a high-voltage line surrounding the suspect’s residence.   

The petitioner stated that while electric fencing can be used as a preventive measure to deter wild elephants from entering villages, it must be designed solely to repel, not to harm or kill them. In this instance, the individual responsible for the death of the tusker unlawfully employed a high-voltage current for lethal purposes.   

Senior Counsel Sandamal Rajapakse with Counsel Kalpanee Dissanayake appeared for the petitioner.