Elephants Forced To Walk Across Metal Tightropes In Thailand's Safari World

[PNGinBKK]

Jayjay0.

Not going to argue with you! Go see for yourself.

No need to reply coz I will not be looking to see if you do.

Huh?

[hungryhippo]

Better to let the animals starve than to perform tricks like this!

Really now? I wonder if the animal would rather starve to death (a horrible slow painful death) then perform some tricks for a couple of hours a day.

I wonder if the owners of Safari World and the elephants trainer would be willing to walk a tightrope between two high-rise in Bangkok without safety need or harnesses! They should be made too.

Edited November 4, 2010 by hungryhippo

[Dap]

I live about 5 minutes from Safari World and the wife has been after me to go with the kids and now that i've seen this there is no way in hel_l that I will take them. I would rather spend that money and donate it to an Elephant rescue center if there is one.

Try googling the Lampang Elephant hospital and conservation center.

[NaiGreg]

In a follow-up story we learn that "the elephants love the tight-rope walking activities. Expert elephant linguists have translated some of their gleeful grunts and roars to mean "Hey! . . . this is better than sex!" -The Daily Smell.

[edgarfriendly]

how about the tightropes some of the 'employees' have to walk so as to not lose their 2000thb per month.

ef

[DoctorG]

I have not seen this show so cannot really comment, but I have seen what Chinese zoos make the big cats do for tricks. Pretty bad.

[moetownblues]

This is just cruel, nothing more can be said

[moetownblues]

I have not seen this show so cannot really comment, but I have seen what Chinese zoos make the big cats do for tricks. Pretty bad.

And the dancing bears with the nose rings

[Luang]

Yeah... and what about dolphins trained to jump 3 meters high, and parrots forced to speak human or riding mini tricycles....

...and Sarah Palin forced to walk on her hind legs and wear lipstick...

That was funny, thanks. And i'm a Brit! :jap:

[featography]

Children also have to be taught to ride a bike.

Really, unless they are beating the elephants I don't see any problems with teaching them how to do things. If they pushed them just a little harder, the elephants could probably steal a few jobs from the Thais. ;-)

I like the way you think.

[asiawatcher]

Safari World needs persecution - big time.

[Tanaka]

I live about 5 minutes from Safari World and the wife has been after me to go with the kids and now that i've seen this there is no way in hel_l that I will take them. I would rather spend that money and donate it to an Elephant rescue center if there is one.

There is. They have two venues, the first outside Chiang Mai and a new one north of Surin. Go to http://elephantnaturefoundation.org/ and learn how you can contribute! There are many ways.

[Tanaka]

Shock Horror.

Elephant walking 4 metres on 2 cables, turning around and then walking back.

On other shows I have seen such horrors as:

- Elephant riding a bicycle

- Elephant walking across 2 prone tourists

- Elephant dancing to disco music

- Elephant eating bananas

- Elephants being ridden by humans

- Elephant demonstrating how they used to help loggers in the past

Get a grip for heaven's sake.

It's not as if they are being flayed alive. The animals look healthy at these places. This is just liberal clap-trap from the UK.

Nothing wrong with these places at all.

Sorry but you apparently just do not have a clue. Not about what this does to the animal and not what has to be done to it to make it perform these antics.

"The animals look healthy at these places". Oh, and how can you tell? You have a veterinary education? Have you been to any of these places you mention when they "train" the elephants? Don't think so, that is not done openly.

There is information to be had on the net. Please try and learn more before posting showing your blantant ignorance.

[Ave]

Perhaps it's understandable that using animals for entertainment purposes has always been a bit of an argumentative subject. My father used to work in some of the worlwide famous circuses and had to admit that animals were often beaten when not doing as instructed and usually starved until they'd perfom their trick properly. The first - and last time - I went to the crocodile farm I couldn't hold the tears. Drugged up crocodiles hardly able to move, a sad looking bear chained up to a seat being fed bananas all day. No, thanks. Interfering with nature like this I think is unnatural, unnecessary but most of all unfair.

[KRS1]

One needs to remember that the way a nation treats its animals reflects upon the way it treats its citizens.

oh please...

[pedro01]

Shock Horror.

Elephant walking 4 metres on 2 cables, turning around and then walking back.

On other shows I have seen such horrors as:

- Elephant riding a bicycle

- Elephant walking across 2 prone tourists

- Elephant dancing to disco music

- Elephant eating bananas

- Elephants being ridden by humans

- Elephant demonstrating how they used to help loggers in the past

Get a grip for heaven's sake.

It's not as if they are being flayed alive. The animals look healthy at these places. This is just liberal clap-trap from the UK.

Nothing wrong with these places at all.

Sorry but you apparently just do not have a clue. Not about what this does to the animal and not what has to be done to it to make it perform these antics.

"The animals look healthy at these places". Oh, and how can you tell? You have a veterinary education? Have you been to any of these places you mention when they "train" the elephants? Don't think so, that is not done openly.

There is information to be had on the net. Please try and learn more before posting showing your blantant ignorance.

Well - in terms of telling if an animal is healthy, I figure I have a much better chance of doing that with my eyes than the bleeding heart liberals have of determining their emotional state of mind.

I have been to elephant villages and zoos, parks with elephants all over Thailand & they look fine to me. Of course, I did not get them to lie on a couch and tell me about their childhood.

As for information on the net, of course there are lots of tree huggers on line and I tend to believe what I see rather than what I read on line.

[Gers1873]

Children also have to be taught to ride a bike.

Really, unless they are beating the elephants I don't see any problems with teaching them how to do things. If they pushed them just a little harder, the elephants could probably steal a few jobs from the Thais. ;-)

In Rayong they even have dolphins who have been trained to swim with, wait for it, humans.

Is there no end to this cruelty and insanity.

[hughben]

As long as people want to view these kinds of things or unless it's made illegal this will go on.

I would rather not see this and hence I would never go and see it. Same with animal prisons we call Zoos, I refuse to go near one - depressing places.

[apollo13]

Children also have to be taught to ride a bike.

Really, unless they are beating the elephants I don't see any problems with teaching them how to do things. If they pushed them just a little harder, the elephants could probably steal a few jobs from the Thais. ;-)

In Rayong they even have dolphins who have been trained to swim with, wait for it, humans.

Is there no end to this cruelty and insanity.

Yes, but dolphins enjoy interacting with people and don't have to have the **** beaten out of them to do it do they. I'm not condoning the aquariums where dolphins are kept in captivity but at least the dolphins are not being tortured by some psychopath with a bottle of lao kou in one hand and a bullhook in the other.

[apollo13]

Shock Horror.

Elephant walking 4 metres on 2 cables, turning around and then walking back.

On other shows I have seen such horrors as:

- Elephant riding a bicycle

- Elephant walking across 2 prone tourists

- Elephant dancing to disco music

- Elephant eating bananas

- Elephants being ridden by humans

- Elephant demonstrating how they used to help loggers in the past

Get a grip for heaven's sake.

It's not as if they are being flayed alive. The animals look healthy at these places. This is just liberal clap-trap from the UK.

Nothing wrong with these places at all.

Sorry but you apparently just do not have a clue. Not about what this does to the animal and not what has to be done to it to make it perform these antics.

"The animals look healthy at these places". Oh, and how can you tell? You have a veterinary education? Have you been to any of these places you mention when they "train" the elephants? Don't think so, that is not done openly.

There is information to be had on the net. Please try and learn more before posting showing your blantant ignorance.

Well - in terms of telling if an animal is healthy, I figure I have a much better chance of doing that with my eyes than the bleeding heart liberals have of determining their emotional state of mind.

I have been to elephant villages and zoos, parks with elephants all over Thailand & they look fine to me. Of course, I did not get them to lie on a couch and tell me about their childhood.

As for information on the net, of course there are lots of tree huggers on line and I tend to believe what I see rather than what I read on line.

Ok...you want to see it to believe it ?....as I wrote earlier..try CRUEL ELEPHANT TRAINING on google videos . It's nothing to do with 'bleeding heart liberals or tree huggers', it's about knowing the difference between right and wrong . Do you really believe it's ok to beat the daylights out of an elephant to make it ride a bicycle so you can have a laugh ? We are talking about training methods, not zoos or elephant parks where you have been MR Herriot

[pedro01]

Shock Horror.

Elephant walking 4 metres on 2 cables, turning around and then walking back.

On other shows I have seen such horrors as:

- Elephant riding a bicycle

- Elephant walking across 2 prone tourists

- Elephant dancing to disco music

- Elephant eating bananas

- Elephants being ridden by humans

- Elephant demonstrating how they used to help loggers in the past

Get a grip for heaven's sake.

It's not as if they are being flayed alive. The animals look healthy at these places. This is just liberal clap-trap from the UK.

Nothing wrong with these places at all.

Sorry but you apparently just do not have a clue. Not about what this does to the animal and not what has to be done to it to make it perform these antics.

"The animals look healthy at these places". Oh, and how can you tell? You have a veterinary education? Have you been to any of these places you mention when they "train" the elephants? Don't think so, that is not done openly.

There is information to be had on the net. Please try and learn more before posting showing your blantant ignorance.

Well - in terms of telling if an animal is healthy, I figure I have a much better chance of doing that with my eyes than the bleeding heart liberals have of determining their emotional state of mind.

I have been to elephant villages and zoos, parks with elephants all over Thailand & they look fine to me. Of course, I did not get them to lie on a couch and tell me about their childhood.

As for information on the net, of course there are lots of tree huggers on line and I tend to believe what I see rather than what I read on line.

Ok...you want to see it to believe it ?....as I wrote earlier..try CRUEL ELEPHANT TRAINING on google videos . It's nothing to do with 'bleeding heart liberals or tree huggers', it's about knowing the difference between right and wrong . Do you really believe it's ok to beat the daylights out of an elephant to make it ride a bicycle so you can have a laugh ? We are talking about training methods, not zoos or elephant parks where you have been MR Herriot

No videos on youtube about cruelty in elephant training in Thailand.

Where did you see this ???

Plenty on the relationship and bond between mahouts and their charge...

[apollo13]

Pedro, Try 'cruel elephant training ' on google videos, you'll get a few hits although they don't seem to be filmed in Thailand. I spotted one on youtube that was filmed in Thailand but the content is apparently so disturbing you have to be signed in with you tube to watch it which I'm not.....I'm not in Thailand right now, maybe it's been taken off by the Thai Gov if you can't spot that one. You gotta realize, an elephant is not a beast that willingly walks on steel cables suspended in mid-air or rides a bicycle or does the michael jackson moonwalk and you're not going to coax 2 tons of jumbo into doing these kind of tricks by patiently waving a piece of sugar cane and singing songs from the jungle book at it . Take a look at the videos (leave out the Thai reference) and realize an elephant is an elephant is an elephant.....no matter where it is, the training process will be fairly similar in that pain is the tool . I'm not a liberal bleeding heart, I grew up working on farms and studied animal husbandry and hearing a beast screaming in pain is something that always rattles me......try that google videos search, you can hear an elephant scream, and remember it'll be the same in Thailand, possibly worse. Elephants on bikes, tightropes, it's just too f****ng sick man.

[pedro01]

Apollo

I have looked again. Nothing at all about cruelty in elephant training in Thailand. Of course, there's stuff about animal cruelty in circus training outside of Thailand.

So - your assertion is that because the stick is used in other countries, the carrot cannot be used in Thailand? That if performing animals are treated poorly in other countries, then they must be treated poorly here?

Are you saying that the only way to train an animal is through cruelty?

Like I say - I have been to many places in Thailand where there are elephants and in many places they perform. I have yet to see any evidence of cruelty.

There is much nonsense on this thread.

Pedro

[blakegeee]

Unless you know how elephants are trained, don't say "...there is nothing wrong with training them to do this" or "I trained my dog and cat..." because you are showing your ignorance.

Here is a video about how an elephant is trained "initially". Keep in mind that MUCH MORE training would be needed for "tricks". If this is how you train your dog or cat, you are a sick excuse for a human being. Don't watch if you have a soft heart although this clearly won't be a problem for many of you.

Click on "Training Crush":

Vanishing Giants

[Buchholz]

The abuse of trained elephants starts when they are babies

The "training crush" as the method is known is explained here:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0510/feature5/video.html

Edited November 5, 2010 by Buchholz

[inmysights]

Shock Horror.

Elephant walking 4 metres on 2 cables, turning around and then walking back.

On other shows I have seen such horrors as:

- Elephant riding a bicycle

- Elephant walking across 2 prone tourists

- Elephant dancing to disco music

- Elephant eating bananas

- Elephants being ridden by humans

- Elephant demonstrating how they used to help loggers in the past

Get a grip for heaven's sake.

It's not as if they are being flayed alive. The animals look healthy at these places. This is just liberal clap-trap from the UK.

Nothing wrong with these places at all.

You're kidding right? I unwittingly accompanied a Thai friend to Safari World a couple of years ago and was horrified by the state the animals were in. Thin, scabbed, unkempt.

But you sound the type who would have thought there was nothing wrong with Taksin's Chiang Mai Zoo's proposal to put some of the more exotic species on the menu.

[inmysights]

Apollo

I have looked again. Nothing at all about cruelty in elephant training in Thailand. Of course, there's stuff about animal cruelty in circus training outside of Thailand.

So - your assertion is that because the stick is used in other countries, the carrot cannot be used in Thailand? That if performing animals are treated poorly in other countries, then they must be treated poorly here?

Are you saying that the only way to train an animal is through cruelty?

Like I say - I have been to many places in Thailand where there are elephants and in many places they perform. I have yet to see any evidence of cruelty.

There is much nonsense on this thread.

Pedro

Your post being one of them. 'I've been to many places such as theses and have yet to see evidence of cruelty' (sic).

You got mates amongst the trainers then?

[inmysights]

Apollo

I have looked again. Nothing at all about cruelty in elephant training in Thailand. Of course, there's stuff about animal cruelty in circus training outside of Thailand.

So - your assertion is that because the stick is used in other countries, the carrot cannot be used in Thailand? That if performing animals are treated poorly in other countries, then they must be treated poorly here?

Are you saying that the only way to train an animal is through cruelty?

Like I say - I have been to many places in Thailand where there are elephants and in many places they perform. I have yet to see any evidence of cruelty.

There is much nonsense on this thread.

Pedro

Your post being one of them. 'I've been to many places such as these and have yet to see evidence of cruelty' (sic).

You got mates amongst the trainers then?

[hughben]

The abuse of trained elephants starts when they are babies

Pedro probably thinks the elephant that shits itself at the end is enjoying itself.

And you would never believe that those men in the video claim to be Buddhists either.

[pedro01]

Apollo

I have looked again. Nothing at all about cruelty in elephant training in Thailand. Of course, there's stuff about animal cruelty in circus training outside of Thailand.

So - your assertion is that because the stick is used in other countries, the carrot cannot be used in Thailand? That if performing animals are treated poorly in other countries, then they must be treated poorly here?

Are you saying that the only way to train an animal is through cruelty?

Like I say - I have been to many places in Thailand where there are elephants and in many places they perform. I have yet to see any evidence of cruelty.

There is much nonsense on this thread.

Pedro

Your post being one of them. 'I've been to many places such as these and have yet to see evidence of cruelty' (sic).

You got mates amongst the trainers then?

Probably just as many as you.