From cruelty to compassion: help us replace abused temple elephants
with animatronic ones
Update: Our fundraiser reached its target in October 2024 and our robotic elephant is under construction!
It will be gifted to a temple in Kerala next year.
A pioneering initiative by PETA India to change the lives of India’s temple elephants is underway, and you can be part of it! For the first time ever, a practical, humane alternative to the brutal treatment of live elephants offers hope for genuine change.
Action for Elephants UK is proud to be part of this initiative by funding the construction of a mechanical elephant to donate to a temple in Kerala. For its part, the temple pledges never again to hire live elephants. In this way, temple by temple, attitudes and practices start to change, setting the stage for a more compassionate future where live elephants are no longer used.
Background
Mahout beating temple elephant.
Elephants have been used for centuries by temples in India as part of traditional ceremonies, but although they’re meant to be revered in Hinduism they are treated with horrific cruelty and lifelong abuse. Usually captured from the wild, they are first tortured into submission, then kept in camps in hellish conditions, forced to endure profound emotional and physical anguish. They are kept in chains and repeatedly beaten and tortured to keep them compliant.
Many exhibit neurotic behaviour and are plagued by chronic foot problems and osteoarthritis from the endless hours spent chained on hard surfaces, as well as many other painful ailments and disfigurements. These tormented animals are treated like equipment, rented out and transported in the back of trucks on gruelling journeys during which they’re unable to lie down. Then, they’re thrust into noisy, chaotic festivals and ceremonies, where they’re forced to carry humans on their weary backs, sometimes despite injuries, lameness, or blindness – ailments common to many of these elephants.
Because the ordeal of captivity causes extreme frustration and stress, elephants sometimes lash out in an attempt to break free, causing chaos and sometimes fatalities. These episodes are becoming more common: from 2007 to July 2024, 540 people were killed in Kerala due to elephants running amok at temple processions, and in the past two years alone, 742 people have been injured in similar incidents (Heritage Animal Task Force data).
Tortured elephants running amok at temple festival
At last, a gamechanger!
In 2023, a real gamechanger appeared on the scene: the first robotic elephant, launched by PETA India. Designed to perform the ceremonial roles assigned to live elephants, it is incredibly lifelike – it can shake its head, flap its ears, move its eyes, and even spray water from its trunk, providing an authentic experience for devotees while promoting empathy and compassion.
Most importantly, when a temple receives a robotic elephant it pledges to never again hire live elephants. If the temple owns an elephant, it will be retired to a sanctuary or sent for specialised veterinary treatment. In this way, temple by temple, attitudes are changing and incremental progress is being made towards a more humane future for these abused elephants.
The first mechanical elephant, named Irinjadapilly Raman, was launched at Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur district in Feb 2023 – the first step on a road to real change
Please sign these petitions:
Help Spare Elephants Cruel Performances