Colombo: Sri Lanka will issue a prisoner’s elephant with their own biometric identity card and prohibit their drivers not to drink on work under a broad new animal protection law.
Many rich people of Sri Lanka – including Buddhist monks – Keep elephants as a pet to show off their wealth, but complaints of bad treatment and widespread cruelty.
These new steps aim to protect animal welfare and include strict regulations around the elephant who works, and mandates a two and a half hour bath every day for every creature.
The official record shows that there are around 200 domestication elephants in the South Asian country, with a population in the wild, it is estimated at around 7,500.
The new law will require all the owners to ensure that animals under care they have a new photo identity card with stamp DNA.
It also carries several regulations for elephants working.
Baby elephants can no longer be used to work – even cultural contests – and cannot be separated from their mothers.
Elephant logging cannot be done for more than four hours a day and night work is prohibited.
There are new restrictions on the tourism industry too – from now on, no more than four people can ride elephants at once, and they have to sit on a good saddle.
Their use in films is prohibited, except for government production under strict veterinary supervision, such as what allows motorists to drink while working.
“People who have or have elephant custody must ensure that Mahout (Rider) does not consume any harmless liquor or drugs when employed,” Wildlife Protection Minister Wimalaweera Dissanayaka said in Gazette notice Thursday.
The owner must send their animals for medical examinations every six months.
Those who violate new laws will make their elephants drink in state care and can face a three-year prison sentence.
Catching wild elephants in Sri Lanka is a crime that can be sentenced to death, but prosecution is rare.
Animal rights activists and elephant experts have accused that over the past 15 years, more than 40 elephant babies have been stolen from the national wildlife park.