The Government is planning to impose strict laws by amending the Penal Code to stop the illegal killing of wild animals.
Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation C.B. Ratnayake said that steps will be taken to amend the Penal Code expeditiously and bring in new laws to deter people from killing wild animals.
He was responding to a question raised by Parliamentarian Jayantha Weerasinghe, PC, at the Consultative Committee on Wildlife and Forest Conservation.
Weerasinghe stressed that the killing of animals has increased to an unprecedented extent and that the law should be strictly enforced against the killers.
Minister CB Ratnayake also pointed out that as the legislative function is vested in Parliament, the amendment of the Penal Code to control animal hunting could be expedited.
The need for an urgent program to regulate the rearing of tame elephants was discussed at the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation, and special attention was paid to the need to amend the relevant ordinances in this regard.
