Elephant trekking in Thailand: Why you should NOT do it

in #tourism6 years ago (edited)

Elephant trekking is one of the most popular tourist activities in this country and I have to admit I too participated in it several times in my time here. This was before I knew the horrible truths behind this inhumane industry.

elephant-trekking-krabi.jpg
seems harmless enough right?

When people first encounter an elephant in Thailand it is very likely the first time they have ever been up close to one of these creatures ever. Perhaps you saw them in a zoo or if you are old enough perhaps you saw them in the circus at some point. Asian elephants are incredibly docile creatures (compared to African elephants) that are very sociable and inquisitive about humans. This doesn't mean they want to be pals with you and they do weigh as much at a Volkswagen and could therefore tear you to pieces accidentally.

The problem with the trekking establishments is that elephants don't instinctively want to have people on their backs and they must be "broken" in order to have this happen. This incorporates horrible atrocities such as taking them away from their mothers at a very young age and forcing them into shackles some confined space and beating them until their spirit is broken and will respond to commands out of fear. Even once released from confinement (a process that can take a very very long time,) they will still be "kept in line" with a bullhook being pressed into the side of their head. Now, the stigma about elephants having very thick skin is definitely true in a literal sense, but how much happiness can a creature have if the only reason they do anything is because they are afraid of being confined or facing horrible pain.

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I'm intentionally not including many pics, they are too heartbreaking

I'm not trying to get everyone to join PETA but i think a line must be drawn at causing continual life-long suffering to an animal in order to sell photographs to tourists.

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look closely, there is a sharp weapon in the trainer's hand

If you really want to go see elephants there are places that you can do so without subjecting this awesome creature (of which, it is estimated there are only 2000 or so remaining) at one of the country's elephant sanctuaries. One of the most renowned is Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

You do have to pay quite a lot to attend these places, but it is an amazing experience and you also get to feel good about yourself because you are helping to provide a far kinder future for these majestic creatures.

No one rides elephants at these parks or trains them to do tricks or make paintings. Most of the animals are rescue / rehabilitation elephants. It is important that these sorts of places receive attention and become / stay popular because of a very stark reality:

Elephants are very expensive to keep. They eat a lot and require a lot of space. The trekking establishments are willing to release them because of an already declining interest in riding elephants in Thailand. However, they need to recoup the money they have invested in the animal up to that point. Also the trainers or "mahouts" don't really know how to do anything else. We can't simply feel sorry for the animals, we need to feel sympathy for people too. For the most part the owners are not wealthy and can't simply release the elephants and sink their families into financial ruin. The elephant sanctuaries therefore must purchase the elephants and then relocate them to their parks.

I have owned multiple tour agencies in the various businesses that I ran in Thailand over the years. Upon learning about the horrible treatment we removed all the brochures and actually refused to sell the tickets to anyone. We replaced the brochures with ones from Projects Abroad - a wonderful organization that promotes making a positive difference in many places. https://www.projects-abroad.org/

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projects abroad locations throughout the world

Unfortunately there is no elephant sanctuary in Krabi as of yet. A retired Danish guy tried, but it was just absurdly expensive and his kick starters didn't raise anywhere near enough money. Let's hope he (or someone else) can do this successfully at a later time.

As always I welcome / appreciate your comments and thanks for reading.

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Elephants are incredibly intelligent creatures, making it even more inhumane to mistreat them

Before now, I thought Elephants do this willingly as its displayed in Thai movies. Learning of this inhuman treatment, the photo the elephant had to be tied with ropes and then flogged to inculcate fear and submissiveness to the owner. This is totally unacceptable, I wonder why people don't talk about. They can't try it with African Elephants cos they ain't friendly as that of Thai. Thanks for educating me on this. I will make further research and write about it

look closely, there is a sharp weapon in the trainer's hand

Oh dear, i just saw that.

Elephants are very expensive to keep. They eat a lot and require a lot of space

My love for elephants is boundless when i was younger i used to want an elephant so bad, i thought we would share my food. It really hurts to see these kind maltreatment bestowed upon this animal. Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year for their ivory tusks. Its really sadening

We need sanctuaries even here in Africa

This incorporates horrible atrocities such as taking them away from their mothers at a very young age and forcing them into shackles some confined space and beating them until their spirit is broken and will respond to commands out of fear.

This is so terrible on this wonderful creature, I read about elephants used for trekking in places like South Africa, I used to wonder why this powerful animal does not hurt them, but I never knew that they were subjected to such an horrible treatment before they ride on them. This is so bad.

It should be barn with immediate effect, such an act should not be promoted at all.

Look at that man with sharp object in his hand, look at how the elephant cried out in pain, just look at it. This is very bad.

Eagle eyes picked

The trekking establishments are willing to release them because of am already declining interest in riding elephants in Thailand.
Instead of....

The trekking establishments are willing to release them because of an already declining interest in riding elephants in Thailand.

Thanks...

my eagle eye beat you to it. Corrected before your reply came in... haha, but thanks for that anyway buddy!

Thanks for reading

Hahahha, that's so hilarious.

I think I'm putting you on your toes already, you have to read and read again for you to be free from me. Smile
I'm not so good myself, but very good at picking little things like that especially in write-ups.... Hahahha

Thailand has limited space. It is difficult to keep elephants safe since they can eat entire farms in a day and farmers will just shot to kill to protect their livelihood. Their are better sanctuary organization than others.

Additionally, the seats on Elephant is very hurtful and damaging. Very bad.

I had a blast bareback riding in Thailand.

I liked seeing the first picture, but the second image was very shocking to me. The 3rd film has given pleasure But why did you break the picture? The people are cruel.

This is animal cruelty fam. There are animals that naturally allow for rides. I am not sure if an Elephant has the structure of even having people on their back. Just like camels, even though they look like they can because of the size of their body.

I really would not even go elephant trekking because with these pictures I see I am sure to see elephants with wounds on parts of their body. This is a pretty sure sign of mistreatment which I would not want to be a part of.

Question is, will these Elephant forget the inhumane torture?

Thailand owes its very existence to elephants. If it weren't for their war elephants, they would have been overrun by the Burmese (Myanmar) hundreds of years ago. I do remember thinking in a traffic jam once, only in Thailand do you have a backup because an elephant is crossing the street.

Reading this at first I wish I could ever ride an elephant but getting to know what they to one before I could get to ride it immediately canceled that wish outta my wish list.
I know how quite hard it is to survive in a society of no money or bad economy but many thanks to the rehabilitation center for intervention and by this the poor trekkers can sell of their slaves and making a living out of the sale . Thanks for the insight on this my friend .

It's unfortunate people look down on animal maltreatment. It's probably one of the reasons I chose to study Biology. Animal,no matter how small or huge they are, are very important one way or the other to the ecosystem and ultimately the balance of the world. I love animals- also not all African elephants are wild,some are very friendly( I know this because I'm an African..lol). Maltreating elephants for the entertainment of human species is something not to be promoted. These animals also deserve a great life with their species. Great post on raising such awareness!!

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