Elephants working in South and Southeast Asian religious temples and festivals represent a distinct captive elephant welfare context shaped by religious tradition and tourism.
Temple elephant welfare is complicated by religious and cultural significance: these animals are not purely working livestock but symbols with spiritual meaning that makes welfare reform politically sensitive. Festival duties — loud noise, crowds, chains during processions — cause measurable stress. Reform requires engagement with religious communities, mahout education, and demonstration that welfare improvements are compatible with religious function. Wildlife SOS and Elephant Family have both developed respectful engagement approaches that achieve welfare improvements without cultural dismissal.