Guest guest Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Opinion -- The Island Friday 11th July 2003 Opinion Elephant hospital for elephants or tourists? News reports confirm that the Elephant group; Eth Suwa Sevena led by the Aranayake PS Chairman has planned to set up an " Elephant Care Hospital, " at Aranayake by October this year. The chief guest at the meeting has been the Regional Development Minister Jayatilake Podinilame. A Director of the Tourist Board to has been present. The minister explaining his plans at the outset had declared that he had approval from PM to get six elephants from the Pinnawala Orphanage. Now if this is to be a hospital has the PM offered six sick elephants or are they six healthy ones? Why have these Nit-Wits decided to admit them to a hospital? How qualified are these people to decide on the suitability of a venture involving great moral responsibility towards these innocents who are continuously harassed by private owners and temples. Besides, they are to train elephants for Peraheras. training mahouts is to be another activity, so that it could be a tourist attraction. by the way has the Buddha ever advocated that elephants be paraded in Peraheras? During his last day as a laymen he even set his horse Kantaka free, but the faithful horse they say died of heartbreak unable to leave the master. he was reborn as a deva. If at all this idea should have been approved by the Minister of Wild Life and we are certain that he would have consulted the experts including animal welfare activists. Some time back the Pinnawala Committee suggested the sale of these animals but we suggested that they be reintroduced to the jungles through the Transit Home in the South, which they successfully achieved. Let the excess animals be sent to the home in the South and then be reintroduced to their habitat. Where there's a will there is a way, they say. Its time that the authorities advised these moneymakers to leave our wild life alone. Tudor Wickremasinghe Colombo 9 -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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