• Low salaries, no promotions, dangerous conditions drive wildlife vets away
• Women graduates leave sector as harsh field realities outweigh passion for conservation
• SL’s wildlife service runs without nurses, paramedics, adequate field staff
• Private sector pay, overseas migration drain veterinary workforce
• One veterinarian is often forced to handle an entire region alone
• Wildlife vets say they face growing public pressure with little institutional support

When Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi responded in Parliament last year to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, the figure he cited left many short of breath: Sri Lanka has just 12 wildlife veterinarians to manage the health of wild animals across the country. 

The Minister further disclosed that on 10 July 2025, all 12 of those veterinarians had to be deployed simultaneously to respond to nine elephants with gunshot injuries. By 15 July, the number of injured elephants had risen to 13. Furthermore, those 12 vets, Patabendi confirmed, worked without veterinary assistants, nurses, or technicians to support them. 

“Unlike in other countries, our veterinarians work alone, under challenging conditions and with limited resources,” the Minister told Parliament, adding that these veterinarians were responsible for treating all wild animals, not just elephants. 

The Minister also noted that all the affected elephants had been shot in the same area and below the knee, suggesting the possibility of an organised campaign targeting the animals. 

This parliamentary disclosure has thrown a spotlight on a systemic problem that experts say has been building for years: the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) is struggling to attract and retain wildlife veterinarians, and that gap is directly hampering the country’s ability to manage the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) and conservation efforts as a whole. 

The HEC in Sri Lanka is a critical and multifaceted issue posing significant challenges to the conservation of the endangered Asian elephant. This conflict has deep historical roots and has escalated due to various factors, including poorly planned development projects, forest clearing, habitat loss, fragmentation of elephant habitats, population growth, urban expansion, changing land use, haphazard electric fencing, and mismanagement of forest and wildlife reserves, as well as weak wildlife management practices. The conflict has resulted in economic losses for farmers, human injuries, and fatalities, making it imperative to find effective solutions.

A shortage that cripples

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, former Director of Wildlife Health at the DWC Dr. Tharaka Prasad was careful to draw a distinction. He noted that while the shortage of veterinarians did not cause HEC, it had severely crippled the ability to manage it. 

Sri Lanka currently operates around nine wildlife veterinary stations across the island. Many of these stations have only one veterinarian, far below what Dr. Prasad described as the minimum needed to function safely. 

“When working with an elephant, you cannot run with a minimum cadre,” he said. “The drugs used to tranquilise elephants are very toxic. When using those, at least two people need to be present.” 

According to him, even monitoring a sedated elephant, watching for trunk movement and other vital signs, requires a dedicated team. An optimally functioning station should have two veterinarians, around eight support staff, and two vehicles. At present, most stations shared a single vehicle, making it impossible to respond to two emergencies simultaneously, he noted.

“When conflict is everywhere, the issue grows and the demand for service increases,” Dr. Prasad said. “Our people are being blamed, but you cannot work and be insulted at the same time.”

Why are graduates not joining the service?

Dr. Vijitha Perera, representing the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA), pointed to the lack of appeal of the position as the root of the profession’s recruitment problem. When Government positions were advertised, he noted, only around 10–15 applicants had come forward over several years. Of approximately 80 veterinary graduates produced annually, roughly 70 opt for the private sector or migrate abroad. 

“The job in wildlife is very challenging; you always have to stay in difficult places and there is a huge risk involved,” Dr. Perera said. “An animal doesn’t understand that we are trying to do good. They are in pain and they are angry. We are always facing a high risk.” 

“If I can get the same salary sitting in an office as I would in risking my life in the forest knowing I could die, I wouldn’t go to the forest,” he added. 

The financial gap is significant. Veterinarians in private practice can earn around Rs. 100,000 per month. Wildlife veterinarians, professionals argue, should be incorporated into the SL-2 service, which carries the same salary scale as medical, dental, and ayurveda medical officers. Instead, veterinary officers remain in the SL-1 salary scale and are restricted from receiving additional allowances for overtime, additional duty, disturbance, availability, and transport. 

Dr. Prasad also pointed to the private practice factor. Most State veterinarians in other sectors, such as livestock, can supplement their income through private consultations after office hours. Wildlife veterinarians, who regularly travel over 120 km for a single case and must monitor animals for extended periods, have no such opportunity. “This job isn’t attractive; there isn’t even time for private practice,” he noted. 

For those with families, the sacrifices extend further. Veterinarians are stationed in remote areas, making it difficult to find schooling for their children or maintain any semblance of normal family life. Dr. Perera noted that the inability to settle a family in a stable environment made the career choice nearly impossible for many young professionals. 

The shortage has consequences that stretch well beyond the management of HEC. Dr. Perera also said the limited veterinary workforce was effectively captured by high-profile elephant cases, leaving other species without adequate care.

‘A dying service’

Beyond pay, both Dr. Prasad and Dr. Perera highlighted the near-total absence of a career progression structure within the DWC as a major deterrent. 

The department currently has only one director position and no assistant or deputy director posts designated for veterinary professionals. Once a veterinarian joins, there is effectively no promotion path. Senior administrative roles have historically been reserved for the Scientific Service or the Administrative Service, excluding veterinary professionals from decision-making positions within their own department, according to Dr. Prasad. 

“There is no promotion scheme. They think this department isn’t a high-standard one,” Dr. Prasad said. 

He recounted instances where senior posts were allocated to other services with smaller cadres, a move he believes is designed to keep veterinary professionals out of leadership roles. He has previously advocated for the creation of an additional director general post specifically for the veterinary service. 

The perception of low status compounds the recruitment problem. Dr. Prasad noted that while the DWC was a first-class department, the absence of a formal promotion structure made it appear otherwise to prospective recruits. Those who do join often leave disillusioned. “They don’t want to stay,” he said. 

Dr. Prasad described the result plainly, describing it as a “dying service”.

Academic perspective

University of Peradeniya Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences Professor Ashoka Dangolla, whose university is the only institution in Sri Lanka that offers veterinary degrees, offered a measured view of the shortage from the academic side. He disputed the framing of a large number of unfilled vacancies, suggesting the actual number of vacant posts may be smaller than reported, despite acknowledging that the department needed more veterinarians to address all issues effectively. 

“There must be a possibility for vets to join. Then we can talk about reasons why vets do not join wildlife,” Prof. Dangolla said. “Many wildlife issues require vets, but others appear to pull the workload. However, when a real need or problem erupts, they identify the absence of vets as an issue.” 

He observed that students’ interest in wildlife during the degree programme was genuine, with approximately 10 students per batch of around 100 expressing a strong desire to join the DWC. “But after graduation, this interest disappears for practical and employment-related reasons,” he said. 

On the question of training, Prof. Dangolla noted that while all students received practical wildlife field training during the five-year course, specific training in elephant conflict mitigation was not built into the schedule. “Time and roster limitations do not allow teachers to expose them to conflict,” he said, adding however that HEC was now reported across 20 districts and was public knowledge. 

He further described his support for the creation of a wildlife paramedic and nursing cadre to assist field veterinarians, and recommended that the number of wildlife vets be increased to at least five per district in high-conflict areas. “Vets in real problem areas are unimaginably busy,” he said.

The invisible workload

Researcher Sameera Weerathunga, who has documented the work of veterinary teams in the field, pointed to a persistent gap in public awareness of this reality. “The number of animals that die receives wide attention, but the number that recover does not,” he said. “Wildlife veterinarians contribute positively, but their efforts are not seen by anyone.”   

Treating a single injured elephant can occupy a veterinarian for weeks, leaving no coverage for the remainder of that region. There are also no specialists within the department for different species; one veterinarian is expected to treat all wild animals, from elephants to birds. When an animal falls into a well or is found injured in a village, there is often simply no one available to respond. 

Weerathunga also noted logistical pressures that compounded the manpower problem. When an animal is caught in a snare, the window for effective treatment is narrow. If the animal moves into dense forest before it can be located, the situation rapidly deteriorates. “By the time we find the animal, it’s often too late,” he said. “If treatment takes too long, the animal becomes weak and collapses.” 

He also drew attention to the gap in public recognition between international veterinary teams, whose work was widely documented and celebrated, and local veterinarians who arrived in the field after long drives and were often perceived merely as workers rather than medical professionals. “People don’t see a ‘doctor’ when a vet is in the range, in the mud,” he observed.

Need for wildlife nurses, volunteers

A field assistant, speaking on condition of anonymity, highlighted the reality of a profession that was struggling to retain talent and provide timely care to the nation’s iconic wildlife. 

One of the most significant hurdles identified is the complete absence of a formal veterinary nurse job category in Sri Lanka. Currently, the system relies on veterinary assistants, many of whom lack formal training and learn only through on-the-job experience. 

The field assistant pointed out that while doctors were often tied up at hospitals or travelling long distances, sometimes over 100 km to reach an injured animal, a trained nursing team could manage the scenario and provide stabilising care. 

“When a call comes in that an animal is down, the doctor can’t always leave immediately. There might not even be a vehicle available,” they said. Having localised nursing teams in every district or beat office could prevent many wildlife deaths that occur during the long wait for a veterinarian. 

The wildlife professionals also reveal a troubling trend regarding the return on investment for veterinary education. While the State spends more to graduate a single veterinarian than it does for a human medical doctor, many of these graduates do not remain in the workforce. 

Further, a high percentage of veterinary students are women, yet a significant number cease practising after marriage. Prof. Dangolla also drew attention to gender as an underexamined dimension of the retention problem. Two female veterinarians have left the DWC before retirement to take up other work. 

“Both of them joined due to passion,” he said. “But they realised that the department does not address many job, life, improvement, and upliftment-related issues for vets. Obviously, the impact on a woman is greater compared to a man. The sacrifices required are much more for a woman than for a man, especially when they are not sufficiently remunerated.” 

This results in a significant loss of Government investment and a perpetual shortage of experienced professionals in the field. Furthermore, the harsh conditions of wildlife work – poor housing, lack of insurance, low salaries, and the requirement to work in remote and often dangerous terrain – deter many from choosing the wildlife sector over private domestic practice or farm management. 

Sri Lanka possesses a large community of individuals passionate about wildlife, yet the DWC lacks a structured volunteer programme. Instead of trained volunteers, the field is often crowded by YouTubers and photographers who follow veterinary teams for content rather than professional assistance. 

The field assistant emphasised that if a proper volunteer course and recruitment process were established, it could create a vital support strength for the DWC during emergencies. Currently, even the field officers who are meant to assist doctors lack specialised training in veterinary assistance, often learning how to handle a rescue only when they are already on the job.

Beyond increasing university intake

Experts and practitioners agree that solutions must go beyond simply increasing university intake, a step that would take at least a decade to impact the workforce meaningfully. 

The immediate priorities they identify include financial risk allowances commensurate with the dangers of the job, the creation of career progression structures within the DWC for veterinary professionals, an expansion of support staff and vehicles at field stations, and the formalisation of a trained volunteer force operating under departmental oversight. 

Prof. Dangolla added that laws currently restricted public engagement with injured wildlife, sometimes preventing members of the public from transporting an animal to a clinic even in an emergency. “If public engagement is to be improved, the laws must be relaxed so that the public can intervene and transport wild animals to a vet or to a hospital when an animal is injured,” he said. 

“Society is used to criticising without knowing that there are only a few veterinarians available,” Dr. Perera said. “Without making the role professionally attractive, the few remaining vets are left to face both the physical dangers of the wild and the criticism of a society that doesn’t see their struggle.”

DWC response

The DWC, however, maintains that the shortage is part of a much broader crisis affecting the entire public sector workforce, rather than a problem unique to wildlife veterinarians alone.

DWC Director General Ranjan Marasinghe acknowledged the staffing shortages but argued that recruitment challenges now affected almost every category of field-based Government employment.

He pointed to changing workforce demographics and shifting career aspirations among graduates as key reasons for the shortage. According to Marasinghe, the majority of university graduates today are women, while many field-based professions continue to struggle to attract applicants willing to work in difficult terrain and remote areas.

“Currently, the vast majority of university graduates are women. In any sector we consider, women often tend to be reluctant when it comes to performing fieldwork. When we recruit for office-based or scientific roles, many women apply. However, for the field roles we currently have, the situation is different.”

He further argued that a declining number of male graduates entering Government service had worsened the issue, particularly in physically demanding field positions. According to Marasinghe, many young professionals now prioritise migration and private sector employment over State service.

The DWC Director General acknowledged that salaries remained a major concern, particularly when veterinarians could earn significantly more through private practice or overseas employment. However, he stressed that the department alone could not alter salary structures tied to broader Government pay scales.

According to Marasinghe, the problem extends beyond veterinarians. The department is also struggling to recruit engineers, technical officers, wildlife rangers, and wildlife guards, as many trained personnel leave for foreign employment opportunities.

While acknowledging the shortages, Marasinghe maintained that the DWC was attempting to improve facilities and recruit new staff annually.

He said that the department was working on projects such as establishing wildlife corridors under the guidance of the Environment Minister, while also continuing recruitment efforts for multiple staff categories.

Judiciary intervenes in HEC crisis

The Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) has also drawn the attention of the Judiciary. The Court of Appeal, presided over by President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya together with Justice Priyantha Fernando, has directed the Department of Wildlife Conservation to appear in court and explain the measures taken to reduce HEC, including the removal and regulation of illegal electric fences. 

The order arose from a writ petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), which argues that key issues, including the absence of a legally permitted voltage standard for electric fences, remain unresolved. 

The court stressed that elephants, recognised as both public property and a national asset, must be protected by the relevant authorities. 

The CEJ, upon the request of the court, submitted proposals for mitigation titled ‘Proposal to Mitigate the Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka’. 

Despite a lengthy history of wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka, existing measures have proven insufficient to mitigate the impacts of HEC. The National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wild Elephants in Sri Lanka (2018) focuses on confining elephants to Elephant Conservation Areas (ECAs) and Managed Elephant Reserves (MERs), which conservationists argue has proven to be a failed strategy.

In addition to the loss of over 400 elephants annually, a tragic incident occurred in 2019 where seven elephants from the same herd were found dead at the Hiriwadunna Reserve in Habarana, drawing immediate public attention. Legal action was initiated to investigate the incident and advocate for justice.

In response to the Court of Appeal’s request, the CEJ conducted a rigorous public consultation process aimed at finding solutions to mitigate HEC. 

The CEJ also held consultations with Government officials at the regional level, engaged with local communities and experts, and studied the National Action Plan (NAP) prepared by the presidential committee for HEC mitigation in Sri Lanka (2020), chaired by conservationist Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando. 

The existing NAP for HEC mitigation follows a three-tiered approach with short-, medium-, and long-term measures. Key measures include the construction and maintenance of electric fences, minimising conflict-escalating activities, compensating for human losses and property damage, initiating insurance programmes, implementing road safety measures, and conducting public awareness programmes. 

The CEJ proposal aims to reduce HEC while building upon the NAP. It includes inputs from communities, insights from Government officers working in affected areas, and expert perspectives. 

The proposal was shared with various stakeholders and discussed during consultations organised in Colombo prior to finalisation. It also incorporated proposed changes officially communicated by the DWC. 

The proposal emphasises the importance of preserving elephant habitats, protecting elephant corridors, and ensuring the effectiveness and maintenance of electric fences. It calls for the establishment of stringent standards for private electric fences to prevent harm to elephants. 

Sustainable intensification of agriculture using innovations to increase productivity of existing agricultural land is also recommended as a way to reduce conflict. Furthermore, the CEJ urged the development of an integrated elephant conservation plan, the creation of a land use policy, and an insurance plan. Additionally, a comprehensive census of Sri Lanka’s elephant population was recommended to support HEC mitigation efforts. 

These recommendations by the CEJ offer a holistic approach to mitigating HEC, with a focus on preserving the nation’s natural heritage, protecting human and elephant lives, and fostering coexistence. The NAP and the CEJ proposal reflect a collective commitment to addressing this complex conservation challenge in Sri Lanka.