US Marks 10th anniversary of electric fence in Wasgamuwa Park

US Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis visited in Wasgamuwa National Park on 27 May to mark the 10th anniversary of an electric fence in its elephant conservation area.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service collaborated with The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) to fund fence around the park in 2002 that protects the people of the village of Weheragalagama from wild elephants.

In her address, Ambassador Butenis thanked the people of Weheragalagama “for their hard work and commitment in making the project a success” and read out a letter by the US Fish and Wildlife Service congratulating the SLWCS and the people of the village for the 10th year anniversary of the electric fence.

 The electric fence facilitates the free movement of elephants in their natural habitat, allows them to feed near the villages, and also restricts entry into human territory, in order to protect property and human lives.

Ambassador Butenis selected the SLWCS as her charity of the year in 2011 in recognition of its significant efforts to conserve the wild elephants of Sri Lanka.

SLWCS’s successful initiative ‘Saving Elephants by Helping People’ creates projects which integrate wildlife conservation, human development, and economic development.