COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka is investigating allegations that two elephants gifted by Thailand have been subjected to cruel treatment at their homes in Buddhist temples, the environment minister said on Monday.

Dammika Patabendi said Bangkok had raised concerns about the welfare of the two animals it presented to Sri Lanka in 1980 and 2001 as symbols of close ties between the two Buddhist nations.

"We have appointed a panel of vets to examine the two elephants and provide a comprehensive report on the health and well-being of the animals," Patabendi told reporters.

"There is a discussion at diplomatic level between the two countries about the welfare of these animals."

Animal-rights activists in Sri Lanka said authorities in Thailand had contacted them to ask about the living conditions of the elephants the Sri Lankan government had handed over to the temples.

"Thailand wants to take back both elephants," the Colombo-based Rally for Animal Rights and Environment told Agence France-Presse.

Elephants are considered a national treasure in Sri Lanka and are venerated as a Buddhist symbol, but there have been reports of cruelty by private owners and monks.

Authorities repatriated a 29-year-old Thai elephant, known locally as Muthu Raja, in 2023 after reports it had been neglected and mistreated at a Buddhist temple.

Muthu Raja, known in Thailand as Sak Surin, was gifted to Sri Lanka in 2001.

A Sri Lankan court sentenced a private elephant keeper to 15 years in jail in September for trafficking protected animals.

The illegal trade in calves has been blamed for a decline in Sri Lanka's elephant population, with conservationists noting that mothers were often killed so their young can be captured.

Escalating human-elephant conflict has also claimed around 400 elephants and 200 human lives annually over the past five years.