Many people who travel to Thailand come home with photos of themselves perched atop an elephant. Elephant tourism is a huge draw in this country. But is it actually animal abuse?
Elephant Tourism
Today in Thailand, there are more captive elephants than wild ones. About 4500 live in captivity, while 3500 are free. Wild elephants are protected by Thai laws. But domesticated elephants are considered working animals. (1)
Many of Thailand’s domesticated elephants used to work in the commercial logging industry. But when the country cut off most of this trade in 1989, elephants and their owners had to look for new work. Now, almost all of the captive elephants in Thailand are used to entertain tourists. (2)
Elephant tourism can take many forms, although most of it happens at elephant camps. These are small enterprises that often have no more than 15 elephants. Tourists may just want the chance to feed and walk among elephants. At some elephant camps, visitors can ride elephants and bathe with them. There are also some that put on circus-style shows where trained elephants perform tricks, including riding giant tricycles and carrying fireworks. (2)
You can stop inhumanity tortured on elephants by stop riding an elephant! pic.twitter.com/oYtPd0wXzI
— abang da balik (@faizalghazaly) April 12, 2019
Animal Cruelty
While elephant tourism is a popular attraction in Thailand, there are questions about animal cruelty. For years, animal rights advocates have raised concerns about everything from how the elephants are trained to the fact that they are used as entertainment at all. (2)
Those concerns are even more heightened after some disturbing photos have come to light. The images, believed to have been taken in Phuket, depict elephants being abused. The trainers riding them are holding wooden sticks with sharp metal hooks on the end. It appears that the trainers are stabbing the elephants with the hooks, as they have open wounds all over their heads. A photo of one elephant shows dozens of scars from healed wounds on the back of its head. (1)
These photos have outraged both tourists and Thai authorities. In an email to Yahoo, a spokesperson for the Tourism Authority of Thailand said, “We never support tourists riding the elephants. Please don’t ride the elephants and don’t support this business.” (1)
Several animal advocacy organizations have also spoken out against elephant tourism. Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, who works for World Animal Protection, believes that as long as there is elephant tourism, animal abuse will be inevitable in the industry. So, the only way to stop it is to get rid of this type of attraction. Instead, she says, Thai elephants should all be on protected reservations with limited contact with humans. (2)
Fixing the Problem
While the Thai government has expressed a desire to improve conditions for working elephants, there are many challenges to resolving this issue. Moving elephants onto protected reservations would likely require more land than modern-day Thailand has to offer. And feeding the elephants would be extremely expensive. (2)
Many Western travel agencies have chosen not to book trips to camps that allow elephant riding. But some elephant camps have found ways around this, and there is no way for tourists to know what happens at the camps after they leave. (2)
One promising initiative is a new audit program. The Captive Elephant Welfare Initiative offers a certification that requires elephant camps to be checked regularly. Inspectors look at what the elephants eat, their medical care, and how the caretakers are trained and paid. They also keep an eye out for animal cruelty. To be eligible for this certificate, elephants cannot be physically abused or perform dangerous stunts. The certificate would help tourists and travel agencies verify that they’re visiting a camp that treats its elephants well. (2)
It will be interesting to see how the Thai government chooses to move forward with solving this problem. No matter what, it is important for tourists to be mindful of the ethics of their sightseeing. No animal deserves to be abused so that they can be used as entertainment for people.
