More teeth for animal protection legislation
While seeking legal advice to control the use of air guns which are used in sports, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife is to amend the existing Fauna and Flora Protection Act, which is outdated, to give more powers to deal with those slaughtering wild animals.
With the recent incident which went on viral on social media, of a number of youth killing wild animals mercilessly in the forest, the Ministry has decided to impose stringent laws against those torturing, harassing and killing animals found in the wild.
The six suspects who have been arrested had killed several wild animals in the Knuckles Forest. The combined investigations by the Police and Wildlife Department have found that the six suspects are from wealthy families. They have been accused of torturing and killing deer and porcupines which are listed in the endangered species of the country.
The main suspect was arrested in Panwilla and two were arrested at St. John’s Estate in Madolkele and the other suspects have also been arrested by the police yesterday. The Police have also taken three firearms belonging to the suspects. “ We have taken action to give the maximum punishment to the six animal killers. But, in future we will increase the punishment by amending the existing wildlife protection laws to give these killers severe punishment, “ Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera told the Daily FT.
He said that he had directed the Police and the officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation to arrest the six culprits including the owner of the 400-acre tea plantation, who has also taken part in the inhumane killing of wild animals. “They had been slaughtering wild animals for the last two-years. They had derived fun from harming and killing innocent animals. This is the second incident of slaughtering animals highlighted in social media. We need to introduce tough legal action against them before this becomes a habit among youth,” he stressed.
“I have instructed the legal unit of the Ministry to draft the amendments within a few months. Not only torturing animals, neglect of domesticated animals will also be looked into under the new amendments,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, Minister Perera has also instructed the legal unit of the Ministry to prepare a paper to request the government to control the sale and use of all sports guns including the air guns soon.
“These weapons including air guns are freely available and even a school child can buy them now. These are high powered guns, which even can kill a person. There is a trend of using these guns now in Sri Lanka and it poses a security threat,” he said.
The Minister said that the government should bring laws to take all such weapons in use into custody and control imports and confiscate the existing such sports weapons belonging to persons who were not using them for sports.
“If they are used in sports, there should be laws to identify to whom these guns should be sold,” he said.
The suspects are to be remanded till 7 July. –
Laugfs Eco Sri distributes 5,000 plants under Green Guardian campaign
Laugfs Eco Sri recently distributed 5,000 plants among its valuable customers as part of an annual Green Guardian Campaign to raise awareness on protecting and preserving the natural environment.
Customers who visited Eco Sri centres to obtain their Vehicle Emission Test (VET) certificates were provided with free plants by the staff located across the country.
Laugfs Eco Sri, is one the two companies engaged in the issuance of VET certificates in Sri Lanka, and has been advocating positive environmental action through numerous awareness programs and initiatives. It has implemented various campaigns in the past to lobby active participation of local communities and the general public in environmental initiatives, working closely with government authorities, non-government organizations and other interest groups. Its annual Green Campaign, carried out for the fifth consecutive year, is part of this commitment to building a safer, cleaner and greener tomorrow.
“As a home-grown company that deeply value our Sri Lankan roots, Laugfs has always had a strong commitment towards building a sustainable future, which is reflected in the diverse businesses across the group. Laugfs Power engages is renewable energy solutions while currently setting up the country’s largest solar power plant. Laugfs Gas offers LPG as an alternative for conventional fossil fuels and similarly Eco Sri offers vehicle emission testing services, critical for effective air quality management,” commented a representative of the Laugfs Eco Sri Management team.
“However, we have not limited our responsibility to preserve our natural environment to the confinements of our service portfolio. Instead we try to constantly engage with our stakeholders to create awareness and instigate action through numerous programs. Our vast network of service centres spread across the country, provides us with the unique advantage of engaging with millions of people all over the country. This initiative to distribute 5,000 plants to our customers was inspired by this very notion,” he further elaborated encapsulating the idea behind the program.
The spokesperson further reiterated that encouraging citizens to actively play a role in planting and nurturing trees can go a long way in creating a better tomorrow.
“We believe that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is now. So, we made this our campaign theme for this year. Preserving the environment has always been one of our top priorities and as a truly Sri Lankan business, we are actively involved in contributing to build a greener tomorrow for our country.”
“Although distributing a plant and encouraging our customers to plant it in their garden may seem a simple initiative, we believe this will be effective in provoking positive thinking, action as well as discussion among our communities on critical environmental challenges facing our country. By reaching out to 5,000 of our customers, we are confident that we will be able to initiate conversation, and hopefully action, among many more around them,” he remarked.
Under the annual Green Campaign of Eco Sri, there is also a forest growing project in the pipeline. This project is expected to bring major environmental benefits of long-term nature. “According to research findings, new forests clean a greater amount of carbon dioxide than the old forests, as new plants need to produce more material through the photosynthesis process for their growth. The forest growing project aims to collaborate with the Environmental Ministry and other stakeholders that can support the project for long-term sustainability” he further added elaborating on future plans
