More elephants die by home guards' weapons in Sri Lanka

ColomboPage News Desk May 13, 2007 May 13, Colombo: The number of elephants that die from gunshot injuries in Sri Lanka has increased since automatic weapons were provided to home guards in villages under terrorist threat, Wildlife Department figures point out. Some 160 elephants died in the North Western Wildlife Zone last year, and 23 of them were victims of home guards’ guns. Automatic rifles have been provided to home guards to protect their villages from the LTTE. Over 200 elephants died last year in Sri Lanka due to human-elephant conflict.