In a tragic case of animal abuse, a pregnant elephant in Kerala lost its life while standing in the river. The brutal animal cruelty incident took place in Kerala’s Palakkad district and the police have taken two persons into custody following the death of the 15-year-old elephant.

Some miscreants had kept firecrackers inside a pineapple to keep elephants away from the agricultural land. When the elephant started eating it, the crackers burst, seriously injuring its upper and lower jaw and tongue. The news of the elephant dying after chewing an explosive-filled pineapple spread like wildfire on social media. Many prominent personalities including cricketers came forward and condemned the cruelty towards animals.

Why would someone do this?: Kevin Pietersen

Former England batsman and animal activist Kevin Pietersen also took it to Instagram and expressed his ‘disgust’ over the incident. Pietersen shared a series of photos of the elephant and wrote, “DISGUSTED with the images I’ve been sent from India overnight over the senseless brutality of this mummy elephant. Why would someone do this?!?! Just why?!?”

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⚠️SENSITIVE CONTENT⚠️ DISGUSTED with the images I’ve been sent from India overnight over the senseless brutality of this mummy elephant. Why would someone do this?!?! Just why?!?! 🤬

A post shared by Kevin Pietersen 🦏 (@kp24) on Jun 3, 2020 at 11:14pm PDT

Along with Pietersen, many other cricketers including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma condemned the cruelty towards the elephant. Rohit, who has been leading campaigns in association with the World Wildlife Fund, rued the ‘heartbreaking’ incident and said that no animal deserves to be treated with cruelty.

“We are savages. Are we not learning ? To hear what happened to the elephant in Kerala was heartbreaking. No animal deserves to be treated with cruelty,” wrote Rohit on Twitter.

We are savages. Are we not learning ? To hear what happened to the elephant in Kerala was heartbreaking. No animal deserves to be treated with cruelty.

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) June 4, 2020

Indian captain Virat Kohli also said it’s high time humans put an end to the ‘cowardly acts’ while sharing artwork of the pregnant elephant on Twitter. “Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let’s treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts,” Kohli said.

Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let's treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts. pic.twitter.com/3oIVZASpag

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 3, 2020

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also promised strict action against the killers of the pregnant elephant. “Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for killing the pregnant elephant. Forest department is probing the case and the culprits won’t be spared,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.