ACTIVIST GOES TO COURT OVER ASHOKAMALA
By S.S.Selvanayagam

Daily Mirror
Oct 31 2007
Sri Lanka

A case was filed by an animal rights activist, yesterday, in a bid
to prevent the female elephant, "Ashokamala," being sent to Yerevan
Zoo in Armenia

In his fundamental rights petition to the Supreme Court, Vijitha
Fernando of the Society for the Protection of AnimalRights said
that in Sri Lanka the elephant has traditionally been an animal
which is revered and considered a national treasure while being a
part of the heritage of the people of Sri Lanka. He contends that
any elephant, whether wild or tame, cannot be exported from Sri
Lanka without a special permit being issued by the Director of the
Wildlife Conservation Department and that the gifting of such animals
is not permitted under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. He
goes on to state that the Director Wildlife is the competent and the
only authority permitted by law to make decisions with regard to the
welfare of elephants both tame and wild.

Mr. Fernando cited the Wildlife Conservation Department Director,
the Environment & National Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka, the
Ministry Secretary M.A.R.D.Jayatilake, Sports & Recreation Minister
Gamini Lokuge, Ministry Secretary Chandra Jayasinghe, Customs chief
S.A.C.S.Jayatilake, National Zoological Gardens Director Herath
Dissanayake, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Assistant Director Ms Anoma
Priyadharshani and the Attorney General as respondents.

Recent media reports had revealed that the Environment & National
Resources Minister and the

Sports & Recreation Minister had confirmed that "Ashokamala" was to
be transferred to Armenia. He alleged that since the Zoo was situated
in Armenia, which has a cold climate, it would be necessary for the
elephant be kept indoors in artificially heated surroundings for at
least four months of the year, and the outside temperatures would
not be suitable for a tropical animal such as "Ashokamala".

He also claimed that the Zoo was notoriously under funded and did
not have the facilities to give "Ashokamala" a comfortable home. He
stated that the said Zoo had one male elephant, purportedly gifted
by Sri Lanka, although there was no record of such a gift having
been given. He said that, having failed in its attempts to obtain
an elephant from India, Yerevan Zoo had now turned its attention and
attempts to Sri Lanka.

He asked the court to declare that the decision to transfer / export /
gift "Ashokamala" to Yerevan Zoo, or any other destination outside
the jurisdiction of Sri Lanka, was unlawful and null and void and
without any force or avail in law.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress