Although certain arrangements have been made to provide water to animals in national parks around the country in view of the prevailing drought, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) stated that such arrangements are not aimed at ensuring the animals' welfare, but preventing possible losses to the tourism industry.

Several parts of the country, including those where there are national parks such as Udawalawe and Yala, have been affected due to the extreme dry weather at present.

Against this backdrop, The Daily Morning queried the DWC's Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara as to whether there are any arrangements to provide water to animals in national parks, to which he said that some arrangements are currently in place to provide water to animals in only a few areas. "We have about one million hectares of land as protected areas. It is not possible to supply water to all those areas, and even if it is possible, doing so is totally against the ecological culture. However, there are some arrangements to provide water to animals that live in a few areas such as the Yala, Udawalawe and Wilpattu National Parks."

While there are such arrangements in place, he however said that they are not aimed at ensuring the animals' welfare. "We have made these arrangements only for tourism-related reasons. For instance, when there is no water, animals in national parks may move to other areas in search of water. It may adversely affect the tourism industry. Therefore, to prevent animals from moving to other areas, we supply water, but it is a misconception that we do so to ensure their welfare."

National parks are a class of protected areas in the country, and are administered by the DWC. Coming under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, No. 2 of 1937, all of the land in national parks is State owned. There are currently 26 National Parks such as Yala, Kumana, Gal Oya, Udawalawe, Wasgamuwa, Wilpattu, Bundala and Minneriya, which together cover an area of more than 5,700 square kilometres.