Sri Lanka’s top official on Asian elephants, Jayantha Jayawardene, welcomed the move to stop them, but told AFP the ban should be extended to biodegradable plastic bags.
“These bags are getting into the food chain of elephants and wildlife and that is not a good thing,” he said.
Elephants in Sri Lanka are considered sacred and protected by law, but about 400 people die per year as a result of human-elephant conflicts near wildlife sanctuaries, as do about 50 people.