Elephant Lovers Demand Action Against Thai Temple

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ALLEGATIONS

Elephant lovers demand action against temple

By The Nation

Following news that a Maha Sarakham temple butchered the carcasses of three elephants and sold the meat, skulls and tusks for Bt2 million, elephant conservationists yesterday called on the government to rescue the remaining beasts and do something before tourism was affected.

The case has disturbed elephant conservationists worldwide, raised questions over the temple's treatment of its animals and highlighted Thailand's severe cruelty against elephants, said Thai conservationist and one of Time Magazine's Asia's Heroes 2005, Sangduen Chailert.

The government should assist the remaining seven elephants there, she said. The Elephant Nature Foundation president said the elephants seemed to be suffering from severe malnutrition and could die if they did not receive treatment.

Sangduen said the government should use this incident as the starting point for passing an elephant protection law. The beasts are a symbol of Thailand and could become extinct if not protected, she said.

A source said the temple bought 10 elephants including two from Phuket, two from Phang Nga and two from Mae Hong Son.

Krittapol Salangam, manager of the Elephant Village in Surin's Tha Tum district, said two elephants were sold two months ago from Bang Bon village in the district to a temple in Maha Sarakham.

One of them was a fierce 13yearold beast with tusks, he said, adding that he didn't know why the temple wanted the elephants. His own village had not sold the temple any elephants, he said.

Thailand remains the transit point for the illegal trade in ivory tusks and Thai customs officials often seize tusks and arrest smugglers.

Customs Department chief Prasong Poonthanet yesterday announced the seizure of Bt10 million worth of ivory tusks from Mozambique. Officials checking packages in transit at the Thai Airways Cargo found 73 pieces of ivory in two large boxes that were declared personal belongings and bound for Laos.

-- The Nation 2011-01-07

[OzMick]

"...................he didn't know why the temple wanted the elephants."

". ..........a Maha Sarakham temple.............. sold the meat, skulls and tusks for Bt2 million........"

It does seem a little obvious.

[Pi Sek]

Send in Jaa Phanom.

[asiawatcher]

If the elephants are malnourished already then they should be taken back to their own habitat and left to eat up and get well. Why would the 'damned' temple be allowed to slaughter these animals? Makes no sense other than greed. Talk to the Abbott and make him responsible.

[IMA_FARANG]

If the elephants are malnourished already then they should be taken back to their own habitat and left to eat up and get well. Why would the 'damned' temple be allowed to slaughter these animals? Makes no sense other than greed. Talk to the Abbott and make him responsible.

I'm not disagreeing with you about the killing of the elephants...if it's true (I believe the article does not state clearly why they were killed or if they, in fact, died due to malnutrition). The newspaper article does NOT say that the Wat killed them but ONLY that the Wat butchered them after they died...what they died from is not stated.

But please tell me where in Thailand is there "Elephant habitat" these days. Even in the far north of Thailand there isn't habitat for wild Elephants these days...much of it is being developed for farming and what was forest is being sold off for other uses (and deforested). With all the best intent in the world...where do the Elephants go? It certanly won't make some poor Thai farmer happy if the Elephants are foraging in his rice paddy...the very rice he needs to feed his family. And just imagine what a herd of hungry Elephants can due to a stand of fruit trees...they smash down the trees to get at the fruit.

Having seen a program about a week ago on the subject of Elephants living in Thailand today, I am quite aware that the real problem is that the suitable habitat in Thailand for wild Elephants (or even tamed and trained Elephants) is rapidly being taken for other uses. There is no habitat and there is now little logging either for those tamed/trained Elephants that were once used for logging. What habitat there is for Elephants to live in today is in Laos or Burma...Thailand is running out of enough habitat for the few Elephants it has left.

A second point is this: were these wild Elephants or tamed/trained ones? If they were the latter they probably were not capable of being released to the wild...even if there was "habitat" for them.

Elephants trained and tamed are used to being fed...they simply don't know how to fend for themselves in the wild...even if there is territory for them to live.

P.S. Note as stated in the last paragraph of the newspaper article...the Ivory seized was NOT from these Elephants...but was that confiscated from a shipment entering from Africa (Mozambique) and headed for Laos (where illegal Ivory carving is common).

Edited January 7, 2011 by IMA_FARANG

[Anyse]

This is more than unconscionable! This is a tragedy. I read about the confiscation of these tusks the other day and there was no mention of where they came from and I thought that it would be poachers out to make a baht. However, it turns out to be a temple of monks out to make millions of baht, which they, in fact, did. This is simple greed. A 13 year-old elephant is rather young really. I am so saddened. Maybe they should take all of the abbots as well as the other monk's teeth, finger and toe nails and the small toes on each foot! That may be a more than suitable life-long punishment that they would remember every day and, as a result, they can reflect on it. Also, they should participate in talks about conserving elephants, not eating them! Yuck!

[Anyse]

If the elephants are malnourished already then they should be taken back to their own habitat and left to eat up and get well. Why would the 'damned' temple be allowed to slaughter these animals? Makes no sense other than greed. Talk to the Abbott and make him responsible.

I'm not disagreeing with you about the killing of the elephants.

Your point is very well stated. I do not get to see much of this here. Good work. Now, what are they going to do about this? That is the point! I hope that this never happens again; however, I know that it will. This is just too, too sad to me. The elephant in Thai society,, on a spiritual level, is a part of the Buddha and, in effect, they are killing their own teacher when they do this. How could they? Yes, you can say greed. Yet, among monks, it would seem that a higher morality and social consciousness would be in vogue among them. Sad, sad, sad.

[Soutpeel]

If the elephants are malnourished already then they should be taken back to their own habitat and left to eat up and get well. Why would the 'damned' temple be allowed to slaughter these animals? Makes no sense other than greed. Talk to the Abbott and make him responsible.

I'm not disagreeing with you about the killing of the elephants.

Your point is very well stated. I do not get to see much of this here. Good work. Now, what are they going to do about this? That is the point! I hope that this never happens again; however, I know that it will. This is just too, too sad to me. The elephant in Thai society,, on a spiritual level, is a part of the Buddha and, in effect, they are killing their own teacher when they do this. How could they? Yes, you can say greed. Yet, among monks, it would seem that a higher morality and social consciousness would be in vogue among them. Sad, sad, sad.

There appears to be nothing in this article which says they actually killed the elephants, it implies they were already dead ?, or is this another example of the "Nations" superb grasp and useage of the English language ?

"Following news that a Maha Sarakham temple butchered the carcasses of three elephants and sold the meat, skulls and tusks for Bt2 million"

[HerbalEd]

"...................he didn't know why the temple wanted the elephants."

". ..........a Maha Sarakham temple.............. sold the meat, skulls and tusks for Bt2 million........"

It does seem a little obvious.

Of course it seems obvious ... in hind sight and after the fact.

[Fookhaht]

Please tell me this news is from Not The Nation website!

Signed,

Resident of Maha Sarakham

Incidentally, why the huge disconnect between life philosophy and real life, when a Buddhist temple can encourage such butchery?

Edited January 7, 2011 by Fookhaht

[khaowong1]

Does anyone have any actual proof that this temple in fact killed and butchered these animals? I would find it really unusual if they had. Here at my temple, we don't kill anything. Even killing mosquito's is frowned on.

[jayjay0]

Why do so many take the article as a declaration that monks killed elephants. That is not what it says.

They butchered and sold them. Why does it not say where the money went.

Just another piece of inept journalism by the nation.

I have no idea of what happened other than they butchered them and sold them for money.

I also have no idea why elephant lovers are always telling others what they should do. Just once try to put together a intelligent plan and post it.