Sri Lanka arrests three men for burning elephant alive

A Sri Lankan elephant calf runs towards another at the Udawalawe national park, a wildlife sanctuary in Udawalawe, Sri Lanka, Sunday, July 22, 2012. (AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Sri Lankan police arrested three men Thursday on charges of cruelty to animals after a viral video showed them setting a wild elephant on fire.

Police said the suspects, aged between 42 and 50, were taken into custody in the north-central district of Anuradhapura, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Colombo.

They were placed on remand until December 24 pending further investigations into the incident, which sparked widespread revulsion after the footage was shared on social media.

Wildlife officials said the animal had first been shot and wounded before being set alight, and that veterinary surgeons’ attempts to save its life failed.

Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka and are protected by law, but farmers and residents in remote villages sometimes attack wild elephants that destroy crops.

Elephants are protected under Sri Lankan law and poachers can face the death penalty for killing one. However, the country has not carried out an execution since 1976 and the death penalty is automatically commuted to life imprisonment.

Escalating human–elephant conflict has claimed around 400 elephant and 200 human lives annually over the past five years.

Sri Lanka has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants, regarded as a national treasure in part because of their importance in Buddhist culture.