The Horrible Plight Of The White-Bellied Sea Eagle 

Animals, like human beings have freedom of living. Yet this freedom is questionable when considering the way in which they are being treated by humans. There is an alarming rise in acts of animal cruelty and they are getting worse by the day. A photo with a White-bellied sea eagle tortured to death went viral on social media earlier this week which sparked anger among many animal rights activists and animal lovers. What was more disturbing about this photo was the fact that around 5-6 men were laughing at the animal after it had been tortured, to give an impression that they are having fun out of animal cruelty. Several animal rights activists had this to say: 

“There are two sides to this incident. One is that the White-bellied sea eagle is a completely protected animal under the Flora and Fauna Ordinance act, section 31. Therefore not only torturing but killing this eagle is an offence itself. The other side is that it again becomes an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance section 3 which was a law enacted back in the 90s. According to this law, illegally capturing and killing an animal is a legal offence. In the case of birds, except for 5 birds all others are protected under the Flora and Fauna Ordinance act. There are some people who like to taste the meat of wild animals and this group of people too would have had similar likes.” – Jagath Gunawardene, senior environmental lawyer 

“I was appalled when I saw this photo. I have seen many acts of cruelty towards animals but this is the cruellest. I am happy that some young animal lovers found this and spread the message around. These people should be severely punished and they should definitely be imprisoned. I have seen this kind of sadism in the West but this is the first time that I saw it in Sri Lanka. These people should be named and shamed. In fact we should ask for forgiveness from these animals because they are facing all these cruelty because of us humans.” – Sagarika Rajakarunanayake, head of Sathva Mithra group 

“Anybody has a right to fight for the rights of animals. When we got news about this incident we wanted to make the photo public. The Freedom Sri Lanka foundation is a volunteer organisation which is dedicated to protect the lives of animals as well as humans. We have done many projects such as awareness programmes in schools regarding various topics and we want the youth to involve in these initiatives.” – Irosh Perera, Freedom Sri Lanka Foundation 

“Let Them Live foundation is an initiative dedicated solely to protect the lives of wild animals. It has been one and a half years since we started this initiative and up until then we have been involved in numerous projects. This photo of the eagle was found on Facebook and we immediately sent it to other media because the people should know that there are such cruel people living among us. Nobody can control the lives of animals. We have to live with these animals in harmony but what is happening is the opposite.” – Shashikalana Ratwatte, Let Them Live Foundation 

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Some facts about the White-bellied sea eagle 

The white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetus species. 

Behaviour 

The white-bellied sea eagle is generally territorial; some birds form permanent pairs that inhabit territories throughout the year, while others are nomadic. The species is monogamous, with pairs remaining together until one bird dies, after which the surviving bird quickly seeks a new mate. Immature birds are generally dispersive, with many moving over 50 km (31 mi) away from the area they were raised. 

Feeding 

The white-bellied sea eagle hunts mainly aquatic animals, such as fish, turtles and sea snakes, but it takes birds, such as little penguins, Eurasian coots and shearwaters, and mammals as well. White-bellied sea eagles feed alone, in pairs, or in family groups. 

The Daily Mirror Life learned that two of the perpetrators, namely Kaluwa Handige Sisira and Peththaruge Chaminda Kumara, both aged 40, living in Nugaduwa, Galle have been arrested yesterday. 

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe