SOC looks into issue of ailing tusker ‘Muthu Raja’ being taken back to Thailand

The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development took into account the displeasure received by Sri Lanka both locally and internationally due to the tusker ‘Muthu Raja’, who was gifted to Sri Lanka from Thailand, being returned back.

The Committee Chair, MP Ajith Mannapperuma inquired from the Secretary to the Ministry whether this tusker was taken back to Thailand with conditions and the reasons for the said, the Parliamentary Communications Department reported. 

In a statement, it mentioned that this matter was discussed when the Committee met in Parliament recently, with the participation of the Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation and the Director Generals of the relevant departments to look into the Annual Performance Report of Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation, Annual Report of Zoological Department and State Timber Corporation.

As disclosed, the tusker Muthu Raja who was brought to Sri Lanka as a gift from the Thai government in the year 2001 and was given to the Kande Vihara temple in Aluthgama by way of a Sannasa for private use. The tusker has been registered as a tame elephant under the Wild Fauna and Flora Act under File No. 178 of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and has since been treated as private property. 

Thus, it was disclosed that the matter is beyond the control of the Zoological Department and the Wildlife Department, it added.

The health condition of the tusker has deteriorated due to the shortcomings in the care given to it, and based on that, non-governmental organizations in Thailand have requested the government and the Thai ambassador in the country to bring the tusker back to Thailand. 

Accordingly, following the requests made from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thai Ambassador, the National Zoological Department intervened and treated the wounds on the back of the tuskers’ legs as a primary treatment which resulted in more than 90% healing, until the tusker was taken back to Thailand, according to the statement.

Given the wounds on the front legs of the tusker take time to heal and given that Thailand has better facilities for treating the tusker there than in this country, the Thai government took the tusker back to Thailand in a separate plane at a cost of Rs. 220 million, promising to the Chief monk of the Vihara that the tusker would be handed over after recovery.

However, as the Environment Minister of Thailand stated that Muthu Raja would not return to Sri Lanka, the Committee inquired about the government institution that is really responsible for this as it has stained the reputation of Sri Lanka. 

The Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation reiterated that since the tusker was given to a temple for private use, the responsibility of the elephant is outside the responsibility of the National Zoological Department and the Wildlife Department. According to the notice received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he further stated that his Ministry has provided only the necessary facilities to take the tusker back. 

Nevertheless, the Chair of the Committee said that as a nation which is famous for its elephants, in a context where even tourists come to see elephants, it is greatly concerning that Sri Lanka finds it difficult to take care of the tusker that was gifted to the country. 

The authorities said that although they were able to facilitate the treatment of the tusker with the help of veterinarians, due to the strong influence of the Thai government and the people of the country, the tusker had to be taken back to Thailand.

The Committee also focused its attention on the problems that have arisen during the construction of the elephant dam in the Balangoda area. It was also considered that there should be some regulation regarding the sale of consumer goods including drinking water bottles at exorbitant prices in the Dehiwala zoo. It was also discussed that the butterfly garden has not been opened to tourists for many years.

Members of the Committee Akila Ellawala, and Waruna Liyanage were present at the Committee meeting held, it added.