Sri Lanka: Recent Reports indicate that Fifteen (15) elephants have died while in the Bull Elephant Holding Ground, and several dozen have escaped

Recent Reports indicate that Fifteen (15) elephants have died while in the Bull Elephant Holding Ground, and several dozen have escaped. Please don't blame the wildlife department (DWC), as they were directed to build this facility by their bosses....the politicians.

Politicians demanded this place to be built...Locals in Horrowpathana were irate that it'd be built in their backyard. The politicians looked at this "jail" as an easy solution for dealing with crop-raiding elephants. We knew it would not work, the DWC career officials knew it would not work, yet the politicians demanded it.

We've produced several video about this problem, and here is our most recent. Well, actually, our most recent video was removed due to pressure from the politicians. We won't discuss that here.

Even at its best, the "jail" was an extremely short term solution for a long term problem. The politicians call upon the DWC to remove elephants from their home villages and farms, and the DWC must oblige. At risk of losing their jobs, non-political wildlife officials/professionals then followed the dictates of their bosses....the political appointees. The politicians have no education in wildlife, yet hold the money and the power.

And so it goes. No long term management plan is being implemented for Sri Lanka's elephants - only short term solutions. Even short term....they fail.

Here's the link to recent news about the "jail." https://srilankamirror.com/.../15540-fifteen-elephants-at...