Minister of Environment Dhammika Patabendi has alleged a political conspiracy behind the proposed return of two Thai-gifted elephants currently kept at the Sri Dalada Maligawa and Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya.

A three-member veterinary committee has been appointed to assess the elephants’ health and any signs of mistreatment.

Their report, due next week, will determine the government’s diplomatic stance on whether the animals should be sent back.

Patabendi said the elephants are not harmed in cultural processions and emphasized that the gifts were meant to strengthen ties between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Suchart Chomklin, is expected to visit Sri Lanka within two weeks, during which the report will be officially handed over.

Thai authorities are reportedly prepared to follow the same procedure used in the 2023 repatriation of Plai Sak Surin (Muthuraja).

One of the elephants involved now 12 years old was the first Thai elephant calf donated to Sri Lanka in 1979.