Spokesman Ajantha Palihawadana said such captures would interfere with nature by removing some of the best genetic stock from the elephant population, including some with tusks which are relatively rare.

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"We were subjected to vast criticism and not a little personal abuse from personal colleagues and others whose most frequent cry was that we should not play God and we should not interfere with nature, " he said.

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Like Prozac before it, Seasonale looks likely to fuel the debate on just how far science should interfere with Mother Nature.

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