By Ifham NizamThe Court of Appeal yesterday took up a public interest litigation pertaining to the allegedly illegal gazette pertaining to 15 illegally captured elephants. The extraordinary gazette was issued on 19 August, 2021, effectively legalizing the commercial use of elephants, private ownership of elephants, low standards of welfare and, most importantly, permitted the registration of the illegally captured elephants. This case was taken up yesterday before Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Justice Dhammika Ganepola, Judges of the Court of Appeal. State Minister of Wildlife Protection Wimalaweera Dissanayake, Director General of Wildlife Conservation Chandana Sooriyabandara, Director General Department of National Zoological Gardens, Officer-in-Charge – Special Investigation No. 01 Criminal Investigation Department, Inspector General of Police C. D. Wickramaratne, Additional Magistrate, S. Prabakaran, Magistrate C. Wickramanayake, and the Attorney General have been cited as respondents.

Source: The Nation November 24, 2021 06:03 UTC