Kerala temple substitutes elephants with robots for religious rites

• The state is home to around one-fifth of the country’s approximately 2,500 captive elephants.
• 138 captive elephants perished in Kerala between 2018 and 2023.
• PETA encouraged all temples in the state to replace them with lifelike prosthetic elephants.

A temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala has installed a mechanical elephant to perform its ceremonies.

The decision by authorities at Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district is part of their vow to avoid utilizing live animals for any festivities.

PETA India and actress Parvathy Thiruvothu donated the model.

They anticipated that this would aid in holding events in a “cruelty-free” manner.

Elephants, chained, saddled, and ornamented, play a major role in temple festivals in Kerala; the state is home to around one-fifth of the country’s approximately 2,500 captive elephants.

Concerns concerning animal welfare have been raised by animal rights advocates for many years. The Centre for Research on Animal Rights wrote to the state’s chief minister last week concerning the mammal’s high mortality, claiming that 138 captive elephants perished in Kerala between 2018 and 2023.

PETA claimed in a statement released on Monday that subjecting living elephants to extremely loud noises during festivals was “cruel,” and encouraged all temples in the state to replace them with lifelike prosthetic elephants.

“It’s high time we made stronger and more impactful strides towards stopping such abuse and letting animals have respectful and dignified lives,” the organization added.

PETA’s elephant model stands 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall, weighs 800 kg (1763.7 pounds), and is made of iron.

According to temple priest Rajkumar Namboothiri, who spoke to the Indian Express, authorities were delighted to receive the mechanical elephant.

“We hope other temples will also think about replacing elephants with robotic elephants for their rituals,” Mr Namboothiri said.

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