Kochi: The High Court has issued a stern critique of the tradition of parading elephants in festivals, condemning it as an exhibition of human arrogance. The criticism came during the hearing of a petition related to the plight of elephants. The court noted that “we should be thankful to God that the whale doesn’t live on land; otherwise, it too would have been used in these parades.” If whales had been capable of being paraded, elephants might have been spared, the court quipped.
The court pointed out the extreme suffering endured by elephants during such events. Elephants are often kept with their legs shackled for hours, with no room to even turn around, and three elephants may be crammed into a small parade area. The bench described the use of elephants in festivals as both “disturbing and terrifying,” noting the immense cruelty inflicted on these animals. This practice is not a matter of tradition, the court emphasized, but rather an expression of human stubbornness. Furthermore, the court observed that temple committees’ rivalries are often behind the demand for elephant parades.
