Local
Mafia,
Wild Elephants and
Elephant Cruelty?
Each elephant that parades the pageantry has an untold story behind which our politicians and monks hide.
Below is a summary of what happens to the rest of the elephants in the wild.
There
is a hive of activity as regard to the elephant trade.
There
was a mafia that operated with the connivance of the politicians.
There
are thugs hiding behind saffron cloth that made the outer circle of
this mafia.
The
same Mafia is operation under the Good Governance.
Not a
single culprit was apprehended or brought to justice!
My
third book on elephants (elephant myths) was deferred with a valid
reason.
I
could not bear to reveal the 10 or more cruel ways of killing
elephants since these methods once revealed would be used for further
cruelty to even the surviving animals.
Like
aiding and abetting in criminal law not revealing the operational
methods is also a crime.
Let
me list them for investigation by proper officials of the present
corrupt Department of Forestry.
I
think police should take a leading role since I do not believe the
forest officers would do justice this gentle giants.
1.
When elephants venture into huts of Ganja growers (in the name of
vegetable farming), they cut the tip of the elephant trunk with a
Kattha or a sword.
Without
the tip of the trunk the elephant cannot survive and die an agonizing
death.
That
is the end of the majesty.
2.
They cut 1
½ 2
by 1
½
2 inches square hole in a pumpkin and introduce a poison inside and
seal the hole with the
cut
piece.
Within
hours the poor elephant who partake the poison is dead.
3.
They used what is called the 'Hakka Pattas', an incendiary device
packed with explosives similar to the hand bomb.
The
“Jonny Buttas” are wrapped and covered with cucumber, melon or
pumpkin and dabbed with honey.
It
explodes when crushed inside the mouth.
4.
Shooting or trap guns.
5.
Use 6” by 6” square wooden plank driven with 5 inch nails. Once a
foot / feet stuck in it there is no way to rescue the giant.
6.
'Waga Lin' or the pits made to trap (8x10x8) the baby elephants.
Once
in the pit the baby elephant cannot escape.
Once
trapped, no escape and they die a slow death of starvation.
7.
Wanton Poisoning the vegetation where the gentle giants feed.
8.
Baby elephants when separated from mother die of starvation.
9.
Infected 'Madhu' - trap wounds and sepsis.
10.
Electric currents.
11.
Use chillies or petrochemicals to bring unpleasantness.
12.
Fire traps.
13.
Use Fire Crackers
14.
Blinding one eye without killing.
15.
Dig holes and bury sharpened and pointed Kithul pikes and cover with
grass.
In
addition if a mahout is changed he does harm to the animal before
his discharge.
Methods
include giving toddy in excess, blinding one eye, driving a nail to
its spine or any other (feet included) unsightly site.
The
last method cause unbearable pain and later sepsis and death.
Reproduction
By Dr Rohan H Wickramasinghe
Some days ago, I received an article on elephant conservation by
Jeremy Hance in The Guardian of August 12th. Much of the piece
concerned the ‘Elephant Sanctuary’ in Tennessee, USA, which was
established over 20 years ago on 200 acres and now covers 2700 acres.
It presently hosts 10 elephants and sightseers, parties and casual
visitors are unwelcome and not admitted.
The staff is very experienced in the various aspects of the
management of the sanctuary. They are, also, devoted to their
charges. One such is Otto Fad, Animal Behaviour and Research
Specialist (see below), who notes that ‘elephants have deep
psychological needs’.
The article on ‘Elephant Conservation’ was published in
support of 2017’s ‘World Elephant Day’ (WED2017). This was
co-founded on the 12th August 2012 by the Canadian film director,
Patricia Sims and the ‘Elephant Re-introduction Foundation of
Thailand’, which was founded in 1996 on the initiative of Queen
Sirikit. (The latter Foundation was set up to attempt to re-introduce
some of the approximately 2800 ‘domesticated’ elephants in
Thailand to the wild.) Patricia Sims was the director of the
documentary ‘When Elephants were Young’, which was narrated by
‘Star Trek’ actor, William Shatner. ‘World Elephant Day’ is
managed by the ‘World Elephant Society’.
The populations of elephants in the wild have been diminishing
significantly in recent years. This is primarily due to poaching for
ivory and, also, to human/elephant conflict in areas of increasing
human activity. Some estimate that the numbers of African elephants
(i.e. Bush Elephants and Forest Elephants) in the wild today
approximate 400,000 and those of Asian elephants are 40,000. Others
view these figures as grossly exaggerated. Be that as it may, it is
indisputable that the numbers are declining.
The concept of doing something for elephants has been spreading
rapidly in recent years. Animal rights groups, such as PETA (People
for Ethical Treatment of Animals), have been working on different
fronts to improve the ways in which people treat these and other
animals. This includes the way animals are treated in some zoos and,
especially, circuses.
The three decades-long battle the animals’ rights groups had
with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is a case in
point. The Bailey Circus was launched in about 1806 by Hachaliah
Bailey and was probably the first in the US. It included an African
elephant, a trained dog, a horse, some pigs and a wagon. After
ups-and-downs and a merger, a revitalized circus began as ‘P. T.
Barnum’s Great Travelling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and
Hippodrome’ in 1871. The circus developed over the years and came
to be billed as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. Animal rights
groups, including PETA, however, took up in court battles the cause
of what they claimed was ill treatment of animals, which included
elephants, lions, tigers and kangaroos. Eventually the circus
withdrew on 1 May 2016 the 11 Asian elephants they had performing
with the circus and sent them to join the approximately 31 others
they had in their 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in
Florida. This was the largest herd of Asian elephants in North
America. This move was followed on Sunday 21 May 2017 with the
complete closing down of the circus after a history of 146 years due
to lack of income to meet expenses. The success of the animal rights
organizations in this matter is attributable to the public pressure
which had been created.
The foregoing brief account of the history and fate of the
Ringling Circus demonstrates the growing concern for the way animals
are treated. This includes the way livestock is treated and is not
confined to the Western and developed worlds. The urge to do
something for elephants is growing in recent years and ‘World
Elephant Day’ is now observed in numerous countries, including, for
example, Australia, Canada, India, Nepal, South Africa, Tanzania,
Thailand, UK and USA. As regards organizations involved in activities
and events in relation to ‘World Elephant Day’, the 24 listed in
Wikipedia are only a few of the many. Activities related to marking
‘World Elephant Day’ included, for instance, a march in
Washington, D.C. and the Wildlife Conservation Society arranging for
the ringing of the closing bell at the Nasdaq Market Site in Times
Square, New York City. The Wildlife Conservation Society also joined
with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in
crushing almost two tons of ivory (value: 8 million USD) in a
symbolic start to WED2017.
As regards ‘World Elephant Day’-related matters in Sri Lanka,
the only event brought to my attention was the launch of a book on
‘elephants’. However, The Island newspaper on Monday the 14th
August did carry an elephant-related news item titled ‘Hakka patas
injures jumbo calf seriously’. This noted that a young elephant
wounded by a ‘hakka patas’ had been found in the Hambantota Port
premises. It was noted that the mouth of the elephant is seriously
injured. The animal also bears a gunshot wound on its head and it has
also lost part of its trunk due to a previous injury. The photograph
accompanying the article gives clear evidence that the report does
not exaggerate the suffering of the animal.
It is appropriate here to return to the observations of Otto Fad
of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. He notes that ‘Welfare is a
concept that can be applied to any animal in any situation……..
Does anyone think that a starving elephant who has just had her lower
jaw blown off by a hakka pata (a makeshift explosive inserted in
fruits and vegetables to injure or kill any animal raiding fields)
takes comfort in her ‘wild’ status ?’ It is noteworthy that
this observation does not explain that ‘hakka patas’ is a word
used in Sri Lanka. In other words, to many if not most elephant
lovers worldwide an explanation is already unnecessary that it is in
Sri Lanka that this abominably cruel contraption is used.
The excuse will no doubt be advanced that the ‘hakka patas’
(incidentally, a most cynical term which is translated as ‘bang
goes the lower jaw’) is used to protect the crops of the farmer.
While the writer does not profess to be an authority in the area of
protecting crops from elephants, he does not accept that a solution
cannot be found, which is more humane than the use of a ‘hakka
patas’. The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS), which
has been established since 2002, is working actively in the area of
human-elephant conflict, which it estimates has an economic cost of
10 million USD per year in Sri Lanka. Its field work by local and
foreign volunteers is conducted around Wasgamuwa National Park.
Fire crackers have traditionally been employed to scare elephants
away from crops and human habitations (particularly when paddy is
stored after the harvest). However, this technique is less effective
after frequent use. The SLWCS also makes use of solar-powered
electric fences. A more recent approach introduced by the SLWCS is
the use of bee hives in the path of routes taken by elephants. This
has been found in African countries to have a useful deterrent
effect. However, this is not universally applicable, since bee
colonies may abandon their hives during unfavourable conditions.
Again, excessive dependence on bee colonies to deter problems with
elephants is inadvisable as honey bees are on the decline in many
parts of the world due to problems with pollution and disease. (The
pollution problems may include disorientation due to the use of
radios, TVs and cell phones.) The SLWCS is also experimenting with
planting fences of citrus (i.e. orange and lime trees) to deter
elephants as well as to provide additional sources of income to
villagers. A further novel approach being tried out by the PAMS
Foundation (co-founded by the late Wayne Lotter) is ‘Chillie Pepper
Fences’ on the outskirts of Ruanda National Park in southern
Tanzania to protect crops during the growing season.
The argument that ‘hakka patas’ is used to protect crops and
habitations from elephants ignores the fact that the ‘hakka patas’
is also used to procure the meat of the wild boar. This is often
offered in a quiet voice by bungalow keepers managing circuit
bungalows etc in relevant regions. (As regards consuming the flesh of
elephants, Siran Deraniyagala in his authoritative ‘The Prehistory
of Sri Lanka’ (1992) notes that there is no firm evidence that the
Veddahs hunted elephants for food. This was probably linked to a
taboo among the Veddahs. )
Locations in Sri Lanka where elephants may be observed are the
Wildlife Parks, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Dehiwela Zoological
Gardens and the various Peraheras. Some elephants are privately kept.
Reams have been written on elephants in these locations and it is not
the purpose of this article to enter into these discussions, which
are freely available for reference by those interested.
The purpose of this article is to focus attention on the outright
cruelty practiced in our treatment of our wildlife and other animals
on occasion. The packed conditions under which cattle are sometimes
transported when some of the animals die of suffocation before
arrival at their destination and the indiscriminate killing of
friendly street dogs are other scandals which need to be addressed
effectively. The use of ‘hakka patas’ in Sri Lanka to kill
wildlife is evidently becoming widely known internationally. It is
fortunate that the recent incident where a live eagle was reportedly
skinned in the presence of others in order to satisfy the sadistic
instincts of a few did not receive wider coverage in international
circles.
We are already having to defend ourselves internationally against
charges of being abusers of human rights. If we don’t take
effective action against the practice of employing ‘hakka patas’,
wildlife organizations around the world will enter into the picture
sooner rather than later and, in the first instance, urge their
nationals to avoid tourism to Sri Lanka until we set our house in
order. Schools, religious bodies and law enforcement agencies could
help. The Ringling Circus matter provides ample evidence that once
the international animal rights organizations around the world get
their teeth into an issue they do not give up. In the matter of
taking effective action against the continuing use of ‘hakka patas’
I would be in sympathy with them.
