A life-sized robotic elephant called Raman is being used in an Indian temple for the first time in a bid to end animal cruelty involved in festival rituals.

Many temples in southern India have their own live-in elephant that is often chained up and mistreated in order to be trained to take part in holiday celebrations, according to Peta, which donated the £5,000 robot.

The 800kg, 11-foot animatronic elephant has been fitted with five powerful electric motors and can carry up to five people at a time so that it can continue to play its role at Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Kerala.

The robot, called Irinjadappilly Raman, has been decorated so that it looks realistic by local artists.

The move has been welcomed by animal rights groups, who have long raised concerns about the poor treatment of elephants in Kerala.

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