Sri Lanka, Aug. 21 -- The Environment Ministry is preparing to issue a Gazette notification establishing a mechanism to regulate and deploy captive elephants for Peraheras and other cultural and religious events, following Cabinet approval for the initiative.

The move is aimed at strengthening governance, accountability and transparency in the management of captive elephants while ensuring compliance with Sri Lanka's national laws and international obligations, the Ministry said.

The initiative follows a comprehensive review of the legal and administrative framework governing the registration and management of captive elephants, changes in conservation priorities, law enforcement challenges, requirements for deploying elephants at cult...