Plus

On August 8 a newspaper carried a news item about the death of a crocodile of the National Zoological Gardens, Dehiwela. This crocodile had been borrowed by a teledrama producer to be used in an episode where its hero grapples with a crocodile in a river. The animal had died about three days after it was returned to the Zoo.

The Director of the Dehiwela Zoological Gardens had also confirmed the incident.What we cannot understand is how the Director of the Zoo consented to give this crocodile to a film maker to enact a violent episode. The scene is said to show the hero of the teledrama grappling with the crocodile in a river, to save some damsels who were bathing from being attacked by it.

The crocodile given from the Zoo for this purpose was about 35 years old, in other words a “Senior Citizen” of the zoo, who was domesticated and used to a peaceful undisturbed life in a safe habitat. As the custodian of this animal, was the director not capable of realizing that it would be harassment of this aging animal when enacting such a scene involving several people on the set who are unused to handling crocodiles?

On reading this news item and receiving further information about this, incident, Sathva Mithra asked the Director whether he had consulted the veterinary surgeons of the Zoo before releasing the animal. The Director admitted that they had been consulted and they had said the animal should not be released.

However, we understand that despite the disapproval of the veterinary surgeons the film makers had been allowed to remove the crocodile at night. There had been no veterinary surgeon to supervise the animal being removal from its waterhole in the zoo; being loaded into a vehicle and lastly being transported to the film location. Usually such transportation should be done under supervision. For example, when a leopard was sent from the Zoo for the shooting of the film “Sooriya Arana”, a senior veterinary surgeon of the Zoo had accompanied it from the time it was taken out and throughout its stay at the film set.

We also understand that a post mortem had been held on this crocodile by a veterinary surgeon and a report prepared. We request that this post-mortem report be made available to the public for purposes of transparency, which the Zoo as a State institute is expected to follow.

By allowing this crocodile to be released the Director has not only failed to protect this animal but also compromised the sacred trust placed in him as custodian of the animals in the National Zoological Gardens.

We strongly urge the President to hold a full inquiry into this incident and on its findings to ensure that all those involved in any wrongful action be punished for the proper protection and care of animals at the National Zoological Gardens.

Our society seems to be going from bad to worse. Assaults, thuggery, intimidation and murder seem to be the order of the day. The main reason for this is the lack of due punishment for crimes.

Patrick J. Buchanan says “A modern society that outlaws the death penalty does not send a message of reverence for life, but a message of moral confusion. When we outlaw the death penalty, we tell the murderer that, no matter what he may do to innocent people, to those in our custody and care, women, children, old people, still his most treasured possession, his life, is secure. We guarantee it-in advance. Just as a nation that declares that nothing will make it go to war finds itself at the mercy of warlike regimes, so a society that will not put the worst of its criminals to death will find itself at the mercy of criminals who have no qualms about putting innocent people to death.”

When people go scot free or with minimum punishment for major crimes too we give criminals a signal that they could go on committing crimes with impunity.

The more lenient the punishment the more the crimes. The more the crimes, by and by, the lesser the punishment becomes, for society gets descensitized to the atrocity of the crimes.

This vicious cycle must be broken. It has become a joke now that even child molesters, drug traffickers and rapists get a few months prison sentence and even murderers get laughable punishments.

Very often we hear the adage “Lead by Example” – but how true is this in reality?

Commissioner General of Examinations, Anura Edirisinghe set such an example at the recently concluded prize distribution ceremony of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya. The amiable Mr Edirisinghe stayed for the full duration of the proceedings, offered words of encouragement to every recipient and joined in the National Anthem towards the end of the programme. In previous years many of the guests of honour paid scant respect to such ceremonies, gracing the occasion for a short period before rushing off to fulfil other commitments.

Thank you Sir, your presence, encouragement and participation lifted the spirits of all those present.

The LTTE has held Sri Lanka to ransom for a quarter of a century and politicians in power must urgently heed the following facts to achieve a lasting solution:

Stamped envelopes are not available at post offices for the past six months. Is this a plan by the authorities to downgrade the post office and hand it over the private sector?

Commemorative stamps, are being printed at odd values of Rs. 4.50 and Rs. 10- when the standard rate for letters is Rs. 5.

Today, there is a drop in people posting letters as they prefer to use other forms of communication. Instead of trying to improve the services if there is a plan to increase the postal rates it would be a disaster. A reduction would no doubt be welcome.

The definitive set consisting of the dancer and drummer are, I understand, to be replaced by the zodiac signs. It is not understood why.

In England, for instance, the picture of the Queen has been used for its definitive series for the past 50 years. The dancer and the drummer are traditional aspects of Sri Lankan culture but the Zodiac signs have no such connection.

The staff at the Philatelic Bureau seem to have gone on a trip at the expense of the stamp designers. The President and the Minister of Posts should inquire into these matters.

'Letters to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to:
'Letters to the Editor,
The Sunday Times,
P.O.Box 1136, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Or e-mail to
editor@sundaytimes.wnl.lk
Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned.