Overworked Elephants in India?

Yes, overworked.  Nearly a thousand elephants in Kerala state are “rented” for parades and various festivities.

The animals have to endure long and noisy parades where fire crackers are set off, they must stand close to flames, travel long distances in ramshackle open vehicles and walk on tarred roads in the scorching sun for hours.

The elephants are stressed and get no rest before being forced to “perform” again.  Of course, the animals snap, and kill people or flee in manic desperation.  Kerala’s Elephant Lovers’ Association claims thousands have died as a result over the past decade.

Elephant “owners” say these claims are exaggerated.  They say the animals are loved.  One owner said, “It’s more of a matter of prestige for us and a family tradition.”

The human values of prestige and tradition seem to always override another’s desires and freedom.

Kerala may be the world’s worst for its treatment of captive elephants, but it happens everywhere- circuses, zoos, and I see them on cable TV, as props in Platinum Weddings.

Despicable.