A Buddhist monk, a Sri Lankan judge and several other wealthy businessman may be cleared of keeping illegally captured elephants and may even get the animals returned to them after recent changes in Sri Lankan law, reports the Associated Press.
A trial involving 42 people may see several of them released without charge after recent measures adopted by the Sri Lankan cabinet will allow them to keep the elephants, provided they can demonstrate they did not know the animals were captured illegally.
"This is nonsense," said Sumith Pilapitiya a former World Bank environmental specialist. "The onus is on the buyer to make sure the paperwork is right."
"You are trying to legalize something illegal, looking for loopholes," he added.
Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera defended the measure though, stating that "there are some people who love the animals and maybe they have taken them without knowing”.
“If there are genuine cases proved in court then the court can decide and tell us," he said.
See more from AP here.
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