Project To Get Elephants Off The Mean Streets Of Bangkok

[george]

Project to get elephants off the mean streets of Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- In honour of National Thai Elephant Day yesterday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced a new project aimed at reducing the number of elephants on Bangkok streets.

National Thai Elephant Day falls on March 13 each year. Bangkok has faced a chronic problem with roaming elephants for years.

Under the Smiling Elephant project, the BMA will embed a microchip under the skin of each elephant whose mahout does not have written permission to bring the beast into the city. Shelter will be provided until the elephant can be sent back home, Deputy Governor Teerachon Manomaiphibul said after a meeting with relevant agencies.

Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation secretary-general Soraida Salwala said about 200 elephants could now be found in the mean streets of Bangkok, begging passers-by to buy bags of food from their mahouts to feed them. The elephants risk accident and illness by staying in Bangkok.

"We'll rush to survey the exact number of begging elephants going around the city before embedding some of them with microchips. The BMA will collaborate with military organisations with bases in Bangkok and the State Railway of Thailand to provide areas for them and their mahouts to stay before being sent back home," Teerachon said.

A source said elephants' owners earned a combined Bt10 million a year by having the beasts beg in the streets, while mahouts received hundreds of thousands of baht. The source believes both national and local politicians benefit from the elephant problem.

-- The Nation 2009-03-14

[londonthai]

BMA will embed a microchip under the skin of each elephant whose mahout does not have written permission to bring the beast into the city.

rather elephants with a permit should be microchiped, than those without the permit - otherwise one permit can be used for several elephants.

I was under the impression, that elephants come to bangkok and the other cities seasonally, when there is no work in the jungle. They come, in order to survive, as they need hundreds kilos of food daily - otherwise they will starve.

not sure about the owners, but mahauts look like a low payed, empoverished workers. Those millions go for food

[soiselee]

It certainly seems that the whole reason the elephants are on the street has been ignored in this project. It seems incredible that people would actually believe that the mahouts would rather work on the streets in Bangkok than their home towns. Of course it is for the money because there is none to be made where they live and they need to feed their elephants and families. So sending them home will not ensure the survival of elephants. Elephants need to earn an income in order to survive into the future.

[Travel2003]

It certainly seems that the whole reason the elephants are on the street has been ignored in this project. It seems incredible that people would actually believe that the mahouts would rather work on the streets in Bangkok than their home towns. Of course it is for the money because there is none to be made where they live and they need to feed their elephants and families. So sending them home will not ensure the survival of elephants. Elephants need to earn an income in order to survive into the future.

You are right about that.

They tried a few years ago as well, but shortly after they returned, in order to make money again.

I just hope we never have an accident involving an elephant and a car/bus, where the elephant get seriously injured.

What will happen if an elephant start running around on the pavements, out of control?

Who is going to put the animal down?

Or, remove it later?

The answer is, nobody, because nobody will look at it as their responsibility.

Unfortunately, this is a scenario which will happen sooner or later, as long as they keep coming in to the city.

[londonthai]

of course life in the city is not natural for elephants (and human as well) and danger of accidents, spread of deseases or "going mental" is greater than in the more natural, rural environment. Still, those animals and mahouts are not able to survive there all year round

[AleG]

A month or so ago I went not far outside Bangkok to some town I can't presently recall the name... we visited a park there and I saw an elephant and its mahout doing some park maintenance work, the animal picking up some cut down vegetation to move it away (and eating a share too)

That got me thinking that would be a way to get the elephants out of the streets and have them earn their living, since that is the only way they'd survive in this modern times. Perhaps one or two elephants in every park of the city, working with the keepers for moving things around and other appropriate jobs. At least hey wouldn't be out in the streets, getting exhausted from long marches in the heat and concrete.

It would also be a good tourism attraction, not put them on a show, just being able to see them ambling around doing their job.

Edited March 17, 2009 by AleG

[Carmine6]

It certainly seems that the whole reason the elephants are on the street has been ignored in this project. It seems incredible that people would actually believe that the mahouts would rather work on the streets in Bangkok than their home towns. Of course it is for the money because there is none to be made where they live and they need to feed their elephants and families. So sending them home will not ensure the survival of elephants. Elephants need to earn an income in order to survive into the future.

You are right about that.

They tried a few years ago as well, but shortly after they returned, in order to make money again.

I just hope we never have an accident involving an elephant and a car/bus, where the elephant get seriously injured.

What will happen if an elephant start running around on the pavements, out of control?

Who is going to put the animal down?

Or, remove it later?

The answer is, nobody, because nobody will look at it as their responsibility.

Unfortunately, this is a scenario which will happen sooner or later, as long as they keep coming in to the city.

Late last year one was struck by a truck and killed. Can't remember if I saw the news while there or the internet. I recall it seemed like it was a quick death. If it had been a taxi or something, it might have just been injured severely and suffered a lot. Would be nice if they had bigger reflective things on. They're like the perfect color to blend into dim areas.

[denny1000]

Carmine6 What a stupid idea. No elephant should be in a city. Period.