Electric trap set up for 1km along foothills of Garo Hills to kill elephants

Vast paddy fields lie along the edge of the forests of the Garo Hills. Before dusk, a herd of elephants came out of the forest and descended into those fields. A few hundred metres away, more than a hundred people watched in anticipation.

One elephant at the front of the herd moved ahead, leaving the others behind as it advanced through the paddy field. After covering some distance, it became entangled in an electrified wire laid inside the field and collapsed to the ground. As the injured elephant writhed in pain, onlookers were seen cheering.

A video of the incident has reached this correspondent. The incident reportedly took place near the Nakugaon Land Port in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur district last Thursday. Local residents had installed electric traps in paddy fields adjoining the Garo Hills in an attempt to prevent elephants from entering croplands.

The traps were made using galvanised iron and copper wires connected to generators supplying electricity. One elephant was injured after becoming entangled in such a wire on Thursday.

Several local residents who are sensitive to wildlife issues said the traps extend for nearly one kilometre. Several other videos of the incident showing the traps have also spread across various Facebook pages.

Forest Department officials say they have faced obstruction from local residents while attempting to dismantle the traps. They allege that Mizanur Rahman, chairman of Noabil Union Parishad under Nalitabari Upazila, and local union parishad member Md Mannan incited residents to attack forest officials.

Chairman Mizanur Rahman and union parishad member Md Mannan were reportedly present at the scene during Thursday’s attempted elephant killing. Members of the Elephant Response Team (ERT) were also there. They alleged that they were unable to act effectively to guide the elephants back safely because of obstruction from local residents.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mizanur Rahman said that paddy cultivation takes place across 300 to 400 acres at the west of Nakugaon port. According to him, local people use generators to light lamps to drive elephants away, and farmers occasionally connect those generators to electric wires.

However, he denied personally assisting in providing electricity to the traps and also rejected allegations that forest officials had been attacked.

Attempts to contact Md Mannan regarding the allegations of assault on forest workers were unsuccessful, as he did not answer phone calls.

According to a Forest Department data, 32 elephants were killed between 2016 and 2025 across the districts of Netrokona, Sherpur, Mymensingh and Jamalpur. Only seven general diaries were filed in connection with those incidents. Just one case was filed with a police station, while another was lodged in a forest court.

Dewan Ali, range officer of the Forest Department in Nalitabari, told Prothom Alo that local residents had earlier worked together to drive elephants away until the paddy harvest began. But now that around half the crop has been harvested, many farmers have been left alone and are setting electrified GI-wire traps to protect their remaining crops.

Dewan Ali further said local residents confined Forest Department personnel when they attempted to dismantle the traps on Thursday.

He added that although the government provides compensation for crop losses caused by wild animals, many residents are unwilling to follow the official compensation process because they want immediate financial assistance rather than waiting one to one-and-a-half months. Just last week, the Forest Department distributed Tk 859,000 as crop compensation.

Under Schedule 1(a) of the recently passed Wildlife (Protection and Conservation) Act 2026, elephants have been granted protected status as a flagship species of the environment. Killing an elephant is classified as a cognisable and non-bailable offence.

According to the law, killing a tiger or elephant without a licence is punishable, upon first conviction, by a minimum of two years and a maximum of seven years in prison, along with fines ranging from Tk 100,000 to Tk 1 million. A repeat offence carries a maximum prison sentence of 12 years and fines of up to Tk 1.5 million.

Section 37 of the law also empowers forest officials and law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected forest offenders without a court warrant in cases involving cognisable offences.

In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed elephants in the critically endangered category in Bangladesh. A survey conducted by the organisation that year estimated the country’s elephant population at 268.

Forest Department data show that 146 elephants were killed between 2016 and 2025, including 26 killed using electric traps. The use of electrified traps in elephant killings is increasing not only in Sherpur, but also in Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Rangamati, Cox's Bazar and Chattogram.

MA Aziz, professor in the Department of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University and an elephant specialist, told Prothom Alo that farmers’ crops — the product of a year’s hard labour — must be protected, but elephants must also be safeguarded.

He noted that the elephant population in Sherpur exceeds the carrying capacity of the surrounding forests, yet wildlife management efforts remain inadequate.

According to him, authorities tend to respond only after incidents occur. He stressed that the Forest Department must work year-round to raise awareness among local communities and strengthen the capacity of Elephant Response Team members to safely return elephants to forests.