THE RARE IMPACT

The RARE Impact on Sri Lanka

Most recently in February 2023 we exposed a non-stop 4 days loud music festival called "Deep Jungle Fest". Conservationists and activists rallied to advocate against the planned event in Habarana with just 12 days to go. Habarana is the most famous and important elephant corridor in Sri Lanka, where elephants from 3 National Parks and 1 Forest Reserve range. Along with Centre for Environmental Justice and Wildlife & Nature Protection Society we were able to stop this disaster from taking place.

We, as an organization came to prominence in June 2019 when we staged a peaceful protest against the handover of a 5 year old baby elephant, named Isira to a temple. The Sri Lankan government was planning to gift Isira, who was living at the Ridiyagama Safari Park in free roaming environment, to the Ruhunu Kataragama Dewalaya temple in the south of Sri Lanka. Once the temple became Isira’s custodian, he would have been forced to take part in Perahera processions and live a lifetime of slavery in captivity. A peaceful yet effective protest attended by dozens of prominent environmental and animal activists achieved headlines and was aired in many national TV stations’ prime time news bulletins. This resulted in the Prime Minister at the time withdrawing his decision to gift Isira to the temple, so that Isira can continue to live at the Safari Park, which offers the better conditions for elephants who cannot be returned to the wild. You can see how happy Isira is in his home here < link to video>

In 2020, we exposed video content of Vishwa, a young elephant who was severely abused and mistreated by his mahouts. On the back of releasing this footage, we lobbied relentlessly for his release and successfully earned him his freedom.

Vishwa, was dubbed as the ‘ most abused elephant in Sri Lanka’ at the time. His custodian was the Ramanya Nikaya Sasanawardana Pirivena Buddhist temple, but several disturbing footage sent to us anonymously, showed how he was constantly beaten and ‘bull-hooked’ unprovoked. Some of the footage also showed Vishwa being hit in the face, by his mahout after he was ‘misbehaving’ at the famous Kandy Esala Perahera.

The content we shared received the attention of news media across the world including animal rights organisations such as ‘Free The Wild’, who backed our campaign for his release. Former Director General of the National Zoological Gardens, Mrs Ishini Wickramasinge, after seeing this horrifying evidence, took action to seize Vishwa from his owners and took measures to retire him to the Ridiyagama Safari Park.

Between 2019 and 2020, we, together with Animal Welfare Trust, took legal action to secure the freedom of elephant Kalana, who was seriously abused and critically injured. Our lawsuit ensured that he will not be returned to the temple where he was abused and instead retired at the Ridiyagama Safari Park. (Pix of Kalana)

In 2021, after a very strong and persuasive social media campaign we were able to stop the gifting of a wild elephant baby from Elephant Transit Home, Udawalawe to Sri Lanka Army.

Practice of keeping a baby elephant as their mascot is a long standing tradition with the Sri Lanka Army’s Gajaba Regiment (The Elephant Regiment). The elephant chosen is always a baby elephant and once they grow older and pass 10 years age the army hands over the elephant to a temple and choose another elephant from the Udawalawe Transit Home or Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. The elephant is given the rank of an army officer but stays chained and forced to take part in activities, such as Army parades, Sri Lanka’s annual Independence Parade, Peraharas and welcoming foreign leaders etc.,

While this has been happening for years, it was not public knowledge that the elephants came from the Elephant Transit Home at Udawalawe, an establishment where orphaned wild elephant calves are rehabilitated and returned back to wild and that these elephants when they pass 10 years age were given to temples.

We were vigilant about this and waited till the Army was going to ask for a new elephant. Then in 2021, Kandula, The Gajaba regiment’s last pachyderm killed his mahout, we were alerted to the true nature of the situation. We swiftly initiated the process for legal action, but timing being of the essence, we launched a social media campaign to expose the story. We were joined by Sri Lankan animal activists and animal lovers from around the world as well as prominent Sri Lankan personalities such as Otara Gunawardana and Rukshan Jayawardena who spoke out against this practice. On 4th March 2021 then Army General Shavendra Silva took a progressive historic decision saying, whilst he was the General of the army “I will not be taking any elephants, as I understand elephants should be in the wild.”

This was a victorious milestone when after 74 years, the army decided against having any elephants appear in the National Independence Day parade in February 2022.

However, following the retirement of General Silva, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage became commander of the Sri Lankan army, and has obtained a baby elephant from Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage as a new army mascot.