PETA India sent Irinjadappilly Raman, a lifelike, “robotic” elephant with the nameIrinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Kerala, as a gift in response to their vow to never retainer uses elephants or any other animals for rituals or celebrations. The artificial “animal” will now assist in performing rites and rituals at the temple, allowing genuine elephants to stay with their family and avoid being separated or subjected to any kind of abuse.
“JUMBO NEWS! The Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Kerala will perform rituals using a lifelike mechanical elephant, allowing real elephants to stay with their families in the wild” a tweet from PETA India. The organization also noted that actor Parvathy Thiruvothu had expressed her support for the initiative.
The press release from PETA stated, “Award-winning Indian film actor Parvathy Thiruvothu
sent her support to PETA India in presenting this innovative solution that will spare real
elephants from a life in which they are separated from their families and forest homes,
deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, and kept constantly chained,
lame, and alone.
The “Nadayiruthal” rite, when elephants are presented to the gods, was also used to
formally welcome Irinjadappilly Raman to the temple. In addition to demonstrating the
robot elephant’s mechanism, PETA also demonstrated the typical abuse that elephants
endure in captivity in a YouTube video.
PETA India outlined the benefits of replacing animals with robots and urged people to stop
participating in any activity that contributes to animal suffering.
“Most elephants kept in captivity in the nation, including those in Kerala, are kept without a
permit or have been moved to another state without authorization. Because they are wild
creatures that would not voluntarily comply with human demands, elephants are educated
and controlled for rides, rituals, stunts, and other uses through harsh penalties, beatings,
and the use of weapons with a metal point.
The majority do not receive enough food, drink, or veterinary care, much alone any kind of normal existence, and many suffer from excruciatingly painful foot conditions and leg wounds from being chained to concrete for hours at a time,” according to a statement from PETA.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently revealed that when pop diva
Rihanna was discovered wearing what appeared to be a real fur coat, they sent her a
synthetic fur coat and advised her to start using cruelty-free goods.