One salient feature emerges from the spate of protests, details of which appeared in the newspapers during the last few days about the two baby elephants brought to Kandy from Pinnawela. While endorsing the views expressed in such letters, this writer would wish all those individuals/organizations to clarify the following matters for the enlightenment of the general public:

The other animals in this country are suffering daily. Cattle, including pregnant cows, are transported under very inhuman conditions for slaughter. The slaughtering too takes place in a very painful manner to the cattle and their suffering has to be seen to be believed. In most other countries, the animal is stunned first, before being slaughtered, to ensure that the animal will not feel the pain while being slaughtered. Such methods are not adopted in this country, despite the existence of numerous organizations/individuals, purported to be friendly to animals. This writer recalls that a few decades ago, the Colombo Municipality proposed the introduction of the method of stunning the animal before being slaughtered, which was a very humanitarian move.

Unfortunately, there was opposition from a religious sect, according to whom, consuming the flesh of animals killed after being stunned, is not proper for them.

When cows are slaughtered on a daily basis at slaughter houses, their calves are deprived of maternal affection and breast milk. The cattle, in fact, should be venerated (as in India) for they produce the much needed milk for the nourishment of the human mothers and little children, while the bulls draw bullock carts and assist the farmers in ploughing their paddy fields. The cattle, thus, generate income for their owners, unlike the elephants. In such a scenario, shouldn’t the cows and their calves be entitled to the identical concern shown by the animal lovers for the two baby elephants and their mothers.

Be that as it may, it is also necessary to know whether all the animal lovers referred to above are vegetarians; for only vegetarians can be animal lovers.

It is sincerely hoped that the matters referred to will be clarified by the aforesaid animal lovers, for the enlightenment of the general public.