A census of the wild animals roaming around homesteads and cultivated lands across the island is planned to be conducted on the 15th, says Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne.
The relevant homeowners will be required to count the wild animals roaming around their homesteads and submit the information, and a time limit of 05 minutes will be given for this, the Deputy Minister says.
Deputy Minister Namal Karunaratne stated this while speaking to the media in Colombo yesterday (01).
“We have designated March 15th to conduct a census of monkeys, giant squirres and peacocks. We are giving 5 minutes. All the officers in lthe Grama Niladhari divisions are involved in this and we are informing the people through them. Within 05 minutes, how many monkeys were there in your land or in your farm? How many giant squirres were there? How many peacocks were there? How many other animals were there? We need to make a count. Then, if there is land that does not have an owner, we need to deploy someone from the land that has been annexed to it through the officers and conduct the survey in that estate as well.
We are giving 05 minutes for this because these animals can jump to other estates within these 05 minutes. So, this census is being done like this. Then, all this information is made available to our ministry through the officers. Then, we can have an idea of how many skunks are there in those areas? pheasants “How many are there? How many of these animals are there in the country? The census is important, and an important process is underway in this regard.”