COLOMBO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's wildlife ministry said Wednesday that the government spends an estimated 8 million U.S. dollars annually on firecrackers to prevent human-elephant conflicts in the country.

Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera said the government requires at least 1.4 million elephant repellents (crackers) per year, which are purchased from local fireworks manufacturers.

He said the main reasons for elephants invading human settlements are that villages are built in the forest lands, where elephants are roaming freely and there is an absence of food and drinking water for the wild elephants.

The minister assured that steps are being taken to look into a permanent solution which will prevent further deaths of humans and elephants in this longstanding conflict.

According to the most recent elephant census, the population of elephants in Sri Lanka is around 6,000, of which only 5 percent is estimated to be Tuskers.

As per the data available, around 300 elephants die every year due to the human-elephant conflict, while over 100 human lives are also lost.

In 2019, Sri Lanka recorded the world's highest number of elephant deaths in the human-elephant conflict with 407 elephants being killed.

Killing wild elephants in Sri Lanka is a criminal offense but there have been regular reports of angry villagers poisoning or shooting the animal. Enditem

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