Thousands of animals are at risk of starving as the effects of the economic pinch reverberates through the country.
By Sarasi Wijeratne
Around 3000 animals from several species in the Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela, the Ridiyagama Safari Park and the Pinnawala Zoo and Elephant Orphanage face an uncertain future after the government defaulted on payments to contractors who supply meat, fruit and leaves for the animals. According to a source it has not paid suppliers for about four months and owes 59 million rupees in arrears to them. The biggest procurement is for the supply of meat.
In addition to settling the arrears the government will have to meet the increase in the cost of supplying food in the future with contractors making adjustments to meet the rising cost of overheads such as transport.
The Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation provides funding for the animals at these three sites to be looked after. Although 120 million rupees are required for the rest of the year the Ministry has given only about 15 million rupees so far, fueling apprehension among animal welfarists about the fate of the funding. While entrance fees that are paid by visitors to these sites are another supplementary source of funding, it is drying up as visitor numbers reduce.
The source said that among the options that have been looked at so far to manage the crisis are a foster scheme where money is given to look after the animals in the places where they are or to release them into the wild. The source added that releasing these animals into the wild will not be a feasible option because they will not be able to survive.
Panchali Panapitiya who works with Rally for Animal Rights and the Environment (RARE), an advocacy and lobby group for animal rights, said they are talking to an organization abroad to try and re home foreign animals like bears and tigers in sanctuaries. ‘We are looking at ethical ones where there is no payment involved’. She suggests that the Sri Lankan animals are rehabilitated and set free into the wild while there will be some animals who will have to be maintained until their death.
‘The rescue plan will have to be phased out’, explains Panapitiya. ‘We saw this coming for some time and were prepared for it. It was just a matter of time.
A build- up of multiple factors led to a compounding of the current funding crisis which the zoos are faced with.
The irresponsible breeding of animals by the Department of National Zoological Gardens under whose purview these sites fall has led to an excess of animals and crowding in the zoos. It is putting pressure on space and funds.
The closure of the Dehiwala Zoo during Covid deprived it of revenue from visitors and after Save The Asian Eelephant (STAE) blacklisted Pinnawala for animal cruelty tourists from western countries who are the high spenders stopped visiting it. Pinnawala is now frequented mostly by tourists from China and Russia. There are about 100 elephants in Dehiwala, Ridiyagama and Pinnawala at present. To ensure their conservation and to attract tourists, Panapitiya moots the idea of two sanctuaries in Pinnawala and Ridiyagama. ‘Tourists will support these’, she points out. ‘Conservation can take place in situ as well not just in the wild where ironically elephants are also being killed’.
Corruption, which Sri Lanka has become notorious for and is endemic in the country, has not spared the zoos either. Panapitiya says that medicines and meat which were bought for the animals have gone missing or back to the butchers.
‘We are ready to help the government with the direction which is needed for a sustainable plan. It’s a deep economic crisis which will take at least 20 to 25 years to settle’.
