Animal welfare organizations have protested against sending Sri Lankan animals to other countries either for meat or scientific research purposes.
They said this in response to a discussion held yesterday (11) regarding the sending of Sri Lankan Toque macaques (known as ‘Rilau’ in Sinhala), to China.
Environmentalist Dr. Jagath Gunawardena said that Sri Lankan animals can be sent to foreign countries only for conservation programmes or animal exchange programmes.
Environmentalists also said that a proper survey must be conducted before sending Sri Lankan Toque macaques to China.
Discussion held with Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera has proposed to send 100,000 Toque macaques to China as a method to minimise the crop damage caused by these animals and to control their population.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that the minister has taken this decision following a request made by China to provide these animals to China.
A delegation from China met with the minister yesterday (11) to discuss the matter.
The ministry said that the Chinese authorities have made this request to display these Toque macaques in their zoos.
A group of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Zoological Gardens Department and the Wildlife Department also joined the discussion held between the Chinese delegation and the Minister of Agriculture.
Under the first phase, it has been discussed to send 100,000,000 Toque macaques to China.
Committee to be appointed
It is planned to appoint a committee consisting of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Department of Zoological Gardens, Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Attorney General’s Department to prepare the required legal proceedings in this regard.
It has also been decided to immediately prepare the Cabinet paper needed to set up this committee which will be appointed to study the legal background to send Toque macaques to a foreign country.
According to a study conducted by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute in 2022, it has been revealed that in the first six months of the year from January to June, 93 million coconuts have been destroyed by monkeys, Toque macaques and giant squirrels.
The farmers alleged that although various solutions have been proposed in the past regarding the alternative measures that can be taken to avoid the crop damage caused by animals, none of them have been implemented in a positive manner.
At present, the population of Toque macaques in Sri Lanka is close to 3 million, and the Ministry of Agriculture said that all the efforts made by the government to reduce this population have failed.
Meanwhile, a group of farmers have requested the Minister of Agriculture to give them firearms to kill the animals that damage crops.
A discussion on preparing a national-level road safety plan under the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme was held today (April 30) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The incidence of road accidents in Sri Lanka is on the rise, leading to a growing number of fatalities and injuries.
Recognizing the urgent need to raise public awareness on accident prevention and promote discipline in road use, this national plan is being formulated as a key initiative under the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme.
The programme aims to uplift society by fostering social, environmental and moral consciousness. A central focus is placed on building a disciplined society and responsible citizens.
The discussion was attended by the senior officials representing the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, the National Council on Road Safety, the Independent Television Network (ITN), representatives from the Ministry of Health and Mass Media (Social and Ethics Divisions), Dr. Indika Jagoda, Director of the National Hospital (Accident and Emergency Department), Prof. Sivakumar and Prof. H.R. Pasidu from the University of Moratuwa, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Traffic) and other relevant officials.
The CPC has reduced fuel prices with effect from midnight today (April 30).
The price reductions of a litre of fuel are as follows : Octane 92 Petrol – reduced by Rs.06 to Rs.293 Octane 95 Petrol – reduced by Rs.20 to Rs.341 Auto Diesel – reduced by Rs.12 to Rs.274 Super Diesel – reduced by Rs. 06 to Rs.325 Kerosene – reduced by Rs.05 to 178
Laugfs Gas PLC, one of the two largest liquefied petroleum (LP) gas suppliers in the country, announced that the company will not revise domestic LP gas prices for the month of May 2025.
This was communicated by the Cluster Director/CEO of Laugfs Gas PLC, Dr. Niroshan J Peiris.
