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New Delhi: A robotic elephant named Irinjadappilly Raman has been unveiled in the premises of Sri Krishna temple, in Thrissur district, Kerala, which was donated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for the aim to stop cruelty on animals for rituals. The robotic elephant is the centre of the attraction that will be used to conduct ceremonies at the temple in a safe and curelty-free manner. The move was hailed by many, including Award-winning Indian film actor Parvathy Thruvothu who sent her support to PETA India.

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According to the reports, the elephant donated to the temple is 11 ft (3.3m) tall, weighs 800 kg and is made of an iron frame. It seems realistic and the artificial pachyderm can be seen flapping its big ears continously. Devotees gathered to the temple to get the glimpses of the mechanical pachyderm and looked excited about it.

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The trained elephants are abused for rides, ceremonies, tricks and other purposes and have been a matter of concern. They are being subjected to cruel punishments and tortures.  

PETA organisation has been advocating against the curelty on animals for many years. PETA said it would help in holding events “in a cruelty-free manner”. In a statement, PETA emphasised that subjecting live elephants to extreme loud noises during festivals was “cruel” and asked all temples in the state to switch to lifelike mechanical 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 organisation added.

GOOD STEP: Using a life-size robotic elephant for rituals is a first for Kerala: A significant step to end “animal Cruelty ” pic.twitter.com/VxHeXxIvDR

— ADV. ASHUTOSH J. DUBEY  (@AdvAshutoshBJP) March 2, 2023

PETA India, based in Mumbai, was launched in January 2000. It operates under the simple principle that animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way, while also educating policymakers and the public about animal abuse and promoting an understanding of the right of all animals to be treated with respect.

Netizens shared the videos of the mechanical robots on Twitter when the curtains were unfolded to show the glimpses of the aritificial pachyderm to the devotees. The crowd seemed exciting the see the artificial robot.