Sri Lanka police arrest three for allegedly burning wild elephant

Sri Lankan police have arrested three men who allegedly burned a wild elephant with burning torches while trying to chase it, local media reported.

Video of the incident, which took place in a village in the north of the country, sparked violent reactions when it was shared on social media this week.

The male elephant died on Tuesday despite the intervention of veterinarians.

According to local media reports, the suspects arrested on Thursday are aged between 42 and 50.

The male elephant was seen to have serious burns and a bullet wound on his leg. According to local media reports, he was also treated by veterinarians several times earlier this year.

The case sparked harsh criticism from animal rights activists and social media users.

A petition created on Thursday demanding measures to be taken to prosecute the perpetrators and prevent similar acts of cruelty has collected more than 400 signatures.

Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka, where the majority of the population is Buddhist. Domesticated elephants are often part of religious ceremonies as well as a popular tourist attraction.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, killing an elephant in the country is a crime that may carry the death penalty.

But increasingly encounters between humans and elephants have proven fatal for both species.

According to local media reports, nearly 400 elephants have died so far this year. An official told local outlet the Daily Mirror that many of these deaths were caused directly by humans and included shootings, train crashes and the use of “jaw bombs”, an explosive bait used by farmers to protect their crops from wild animals.

During the same period, more than 100 people lost their lives in elephant attacks.