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Did You Know About Kerala's Suffering Temple Elephants?

Did You Know About Kerala's Suffering Temple Elephants?

 

Rampant Elephant Abuse in the Indian State Prompts An Official Response

A small but significant stand has been taken against the abusive treatment of temple elephants in Kerala, India: an office of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) has filed criminal charges against Thiruvambadi Devaswom Temple for gross neglect of the elephants in its care.

Thiruvambadi Devaswom Temple is one of many temples in the southern state of Kerala that “owns” elephants for their use in frequent religious festivals. Unsanitary conditions, chained confinement, and ritualistic beatings are the norm for the more than 700 chronically traumatized elephants kept by temples in Kerala.

Among the five elephants “owned” by Thiruvambadi Devaswom Temple, India’s Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) reports clear signs of abuse and neglect including rampant foot disease, trunk paralysis, and infected and untreated wounds. A detailed examination of one of the elephants in question—a severely wounded and infected male named Ramabadhran—has prompted Kerala’s Assistant Conservator of Forest, an IFS officer, to file criminal charges against the temple.

Also in Kerala, the Animal Welfare Board of India has called for an inquest into the death of a 20-year-old elephant named Chitillapilly Rajashekaran. HATF reports that the elephant was subjected to “Katti Adikkal,” a ritual involving a prolonged, brutal beating that is intended to break a bull elephant’s will as he emerges from his musth (the annual three- or four-month cycle during which the male elephants are in “heat”).

Please share this post to raise awareness of the cruel treatment of temple elephants in Kerala, and to support the legal measures recently taken by the IFS.  You can read more about the situation in Kerala here. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sangita-iyer/elephant-dies-in-kerala_b_9184522.html

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