Video footage shared on social media shows One of the elephant’s keepers pulls the agitated animal by the tail in a desperate attempt to control it.while the devotees who filled the street rushed to escape.
The police spokesman explained that 13 people were transferred to a hospital on July 6 to treat his minor injuries in Kataragama, 280 kilometres south of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
A few days following the incident, the spokesman for the local state hospital stated that All the injured were discharged to return to their homes.
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In Sri Lanka, elephants are considered sacred; however, laws once morest animal cruelty are not enforced.
Animal rights groups are criticising the widespread use of elephants during temple ceremonies in Sri Lanka.
An incident like the one on July 6 is the first time this has happened. In August 2023, five agitated elephants caused dozens of pilgrims to jump into a lake in the central city of Kandy to escape.
On that occasion, several people were injured and a woman was hospitalized.
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Official records indicate that There are regarding 200 domesticated elephants in the island country, in addition to some 7,500 in the wild.
He Government banned the capture of wild elephantsbut in recent years dozens of cubs have been stolen, often following their mothers were killed by their captors.
In February 2017, Sri Lankan elephant expert and CEO of the Elephant Conservation and Biodiversity Consortium, Jayanthe Jayewardene, explained to DW that “many newly rich families try to improve their social status by purchasing a baby elephant. When they grow up, families do not get rid of the animal, but keep it at home because it remains a status symbol.”
Animal rights activists criticize that the desire to own baby elephants poses a problem for the animals on two counts. On the one hand, the welfare of the animals is endangered and, secondly, the number of specimens is decreasing in the wild.
Prithiviraj Fernando, a scientist and president of the Centre for Conservation and Research in Sri Lanka, also told DW in 2017 that “traditional domestication involves taming the animal. In this process, generally Elephants are left to starveand then beat them and reward them.”
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