The veteran Indian opener, Rohit Sharma reacted sharply to the killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, saying no animal deserves to be treated with cruelty. The news of the elephant dying after chewing a pineapple filled with an explosive fed to her in Malappuram has triggered a massive outcry across the country. With cartoonists poking the conscience of people, several on social media have condemned the act of human cruelty.

Rohit, who has been leading campaigns in association with the World Wildlife Fund to bring awareness about animal conservation in the country, said he felt heartbroken by the death of the elephant in Kerala. Tweeting about the same, he wrote: “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.”

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

The pineapple exploded in the elephant’s mouth when she chomped on it, a senior forest officer in Kerala had said. The elephant’s jaw was find broken in her post-mortem and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple. The injured animal stood in Velliyar River where id died on May 27. The forest officer said post mortem revealed that the elephant was pregnant.

ALSO READ: Shikhar Dhawan Gets A Lockdown Make-over From Zoravar

Earlier on Wednesday, The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli said it’s high time humans put an end to the ‘cowardly acts’ while sharing a cartoon of a pregnant elephant. He tweeted: “Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let’s treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts.”

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

India football team captain Sunil Chhetri also reacted sharply to the killing of the elephant, questioning the evolution of human beings. He tweeted: “She was a harmless, pregnant Elephant. That makes the people who did what they did, monsters and I hope so hard that they pay a price. We keep failing nature over and over again. Remind me how we’re the more evolved species?”

She was a harmless, pregnant Elephant. That makes the people who did what they did, monsters and I hope so hard that they pay a price. We keep failing nature over and over again. Remind me how we’re the more evolved species?

— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) June 3, 2020

The incident has sparked outrage on Twitter with even Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma reacting to the news. She also demanded stricter laws against animal cruelty in her post.

View this post on Instagram

#Repost @tedthestoner . We all would urge @cmokerala to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice for this heinous crime. • A pregnant elephant was fed cracker stuffed pineapple by unidentified people in Kerala which exploded in her mouth and damaged her jaw. She walked around the village and finally passed away standing in a river. We keep searching for monsters hoping they would be having the devil's horns on their heads. But look around you, the monsters walk beside you. This elephant was going to give birth 18-20 months later. Even after the elephant was injured, she did not crush a single home or hurt a single human being. She just stood in a river because of the excruciating pain and passed away without hurting a single soul. From anybody who throws stones at a stray dog to anybody hurting a living soul, choose one face. A lot of these animals trust human beings because they have been helped by them in the past. This is cruel beyond measure. When you lack empathy and kindness, you do not deserve to be called a human being. To hurt someone is not human. Just stricter laws won't help. We need a decent execution of the law too. Until the guilty are punished in the worst possible way, these wicked monsters will never fear the law. Though it's a difficult task, I hope they are able to find out the one who committed this crime and punish them accordingly. Artwork by Bratuti.

A post shared by ɐɯɹɐɥS ɐʞɥsnu∀ (@anushkasharma) on Jun 3, 2020 at 2:28am PDT

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the killing the 15-year-old pregnant elephant.

ALSO READ: Irfan Pathan Recalled When Sourav Ganguly Didn’t Support Him

Vijayan said, “Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for killing the pregnant elephant. Forest department is probing the case and the culprits will be brought to book.”