Crazy work hours put jumbo stress on elephants

CRAZY WORK HOURS: Vets say long working hours in sweltering heat is bad for elephants.

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Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvalla Unnikrishnan crushing a man to death at Koodalmanikam temple in Thrissur has shocked elephant lovers in Kerala.

Perhaps, it's another grim reminder that human relations with these gentle giants have soured and it might not just get better very soon.

“Traditionally elephants are an integral part of temple festivals. It not just the beauty that the elephant brings to festival, but rather its a matter of faith as the elephants represent Lord Ganesha,” Thiruvambadi Devaswom secretary P Chandrasekharan says.

Perhaps it's time to look into what's wrong with these elephants.

Veterinarians say long working hours in sweltering heat and dehydration puts elephants under extreme stress.

Though state government has issued guidelines and the High Court has banned parading elephants between 11 and 3 pm, when the sun is overhead, temples get away by taking permissions few days before the festival kicks off.

“We cannot directly interfere with works of the individual devaswoms. But we will try to bring a new legislature to stop use of elephants for such situations. It’s cruelty that drives elephants to do such things. We are even thinking of giving special training to mahouts,” Devaswom Minister, Kerala, G Sudakaran says.

A ban on use of elephants in temples might not be the practical solution in a festival-crazy Kerala. What is, perhaps, the need of the hour is a consensus among festival organisers to stop the excessive use of the jumbos for such occasions lest more lives are trampled on.