FolkGuitar

I think you are missing the point. You've said the same thing at least three times on this one thread. The point is that they have already made up their minds and refuse to research or reason. They have an agenda and will not be swayed. You are wasting you breathe.

So far I've heard "I sold ticket at the circus and that makes me a qualified elephant caregiver" or " I saw a video on youtube, therefor all elephant camps in Thailand are bad" or " a link said says that an elephants doc's were switch, he must have been tortured as a baby." " The mahouts carry a hook, he tortures the elephants" as in a officer carries a gun/baton, he tortures citizens" And yes, this is not what was actually said, but I write it to prove a point. There are too many assumptions being made without any personal research/proof.

All these people claim that you have no idea, or want to check if you work for the local camps.... None of them have been on their own to confirm anything that they have said. How can you blindly argue something that you have never seen/experienced? especially with people that actually have???

edit: added more fuel to the fire....

No one is trying to say that there aren't problems with illegal activities using elephants. We all know that there are. There is still illegal logging going on using elephants in many parts of Thailand that needs to be addressed, not just the few unscrupulous mahouts who abuse the animals.

The trick is NOT TO CREATE MORE PROBLEMS with knee-jerk reactions. Emotion is good, but it needs to be mixed with scientific reality.

This has happened all too many times in the efforts of well-meaning people to care for animals. There IS a need to protect the animals.

We do NOT protect them by taking away their food and medical care.

If we want to close the camps, we need to FIRST figure out how to provide food and medical care for the elephants in modern-day Thailand. We can't simply turn them all loose into the wild. There simply isn't enough 'wild' left in Thailand to keep them safe.

Edited August 27, 201312 yr by CMSteve

I think we've beaten this into the ground enough. The OP has run away. And can't blame him.

Let's close this topic for now.