The ugly side of Thailand's elephant tourism

[webfact]

The ugly side of Thailand's elephant tourism
By Jeanne Kim

BANGKOK: -- Tourism brochures for Thailand showcase its stunning beaches with clear blue waters; colorful carts of fresh fruits at outdoor markets; and elephants meandering through the jungle with excited visitors on their backs. But it turns out there’s a dark side to these elephant rides.

Thailand is one of 13 countries in Asia that trades Asian elephants—most from bordering Myanmar—to fuel its tourism market. And a recent report found widespread abuses in the industry.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade group governed by the World Wide Fund (WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), released the results of an investigation into 108 elephant tourism camps, hotels, and government facilities they examined between 2011 to 2013. They found around 80 of the elephants in those facilities that they said were illegally captured for the tourism industry. And of those whose origins are identifiable, nine out of 10 were from Myanmar. Estimates put the number of elephants at tourist camps in Thailand at 1,688.

Last century, Asian elephants were used for logging, and poached for their skin, meat and ivory. But after the Thai government banned logging in protected areas in 1989, it wasn’t long before the elephants were repurposed as a tourist attraction—which became a new reason to illegally trade elephants.

Full story: http://qz.com/239437/the-ugly-side-of-thailands-elephant-tourism/

-- QUARTZ 2014-07-29

[BSJ]

Did they need something to fill a blank spot in their rag?

 

Probably been going on for years.

 

Come next year and their will be a lot more trading with other countries, elephants as well one would imagine.

[Fiddlesticks]

I read the headline and was curious how many elephants come to Thailand as tourists.  Hope they are not counted in the annual tourist numbers.  

[noitom]

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

[Katipo]

While there has been largely low key protests/awareness of this problem in Thailand for some time, it looks like there might be a swelling of popular opinion against abuse of Elephants on the horizon. I for one certainly hope so.

[ratcatcher]

I read the headline and was curious how many elephants come to Thailand as tourists.  Hope they are not counted in the annual tourist numbers.  

Boeing catered for that kind of tourism with the Jumbo jet.

[Bkungbank]

Ayuttaya using elephant for tourist ride it's really cruel as hook use to control on ear and over working during weekend where you can see many tourist, need to boycott such moved to return poor elephant to Myanmar forest where they belong, still lack of laws to protect such great animal .

[monkeycountry]

"The ugly side of Thailand's elephant tourism"

 

Is there another side?

[worgeordie]

When you see them walking baby elephants around the

markets,tourist places,selling bananas and sugar cane

for people to feed the youngster,its not right,they say

an elephant never forgets,not many happy memories

for those little elephants i suspect.

regards Worgordie 

 

P.S one night i was driving home and it was very dark,

when in the headlights i see a small red light swaying

back and fourth,I am thinking some drunk on a bike,

until i got closer a bloody big elephant with a light

attached to its tail !

[Nampetch]

 

I read the headline and was curious how many elephants come to Thailand as tourists.  Hope they are not counted in the annual tourist numbers.  

Boeing catered for that kind of tourism with the Jumbo jet.

 

  ... I got it!

[ratcatcher]

"The ugly side of Thailand's elephant tourism"

 

Is there another side?

Oh Yes, it's called "The Ugly Side of Thailand's elephant tourism."

[surinderek]

Selling fruit and sugar cane in all areas is little forthe elephant and most for the mahouts drink.

[lostmebike]

"The ugly side of Thailand's elephant tourism"

 

Is there another side?

 

Agreed.

 

Whether elephants are performing at 'shows' for tourists or being paraded around town to 'feed', both of these activities should be banned IMO.

 

(I think the last government or maybe many previous governments have advised Thais not to feed elephants out on the street because of animal cruelty yet it still seems to be common practice across many provinces.)

 

A little off topic I know but nonetheless I must ask ... how many posters have been insulted by the elephants 'carers' (****ing joke that) after refusing to feed there 'slaves'?

 

I have refused to feed elephants in the north, south, east and centre of Thailand and pretty much been insulted (or the wife) in all locations for not feeding their elephants. On many occasion, the 'carers' have stank of booze!

 

I love elephants yet am totally scared of their size (I saw one freak out at a show in Phuket years ago .. terrifying)

 

Those poor elephants.

Edited July 29, 2014 by lostmebike

[chainarong]

It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth every-time I see or read about Elephants in Thailand or other Asian countries and it is all the ugly side alright,  their treatment can only be described as torcher , they should be free , to wander or be looked after as a noble beast which they are , there are places that look after them and they get my vote, not the TATS of Thailand.

[iReason]

How about printing more of "the Ugly Side of Thailand"?

And shatter this LOS facade.

[MILT]

Well since you all generalizing, how about all tourist are predators, all blacks are thugs, all Thais are rip offs, lets see oh yea all westerners are war mongers. Name the the elephant camps that are abusing the elephants for starters, I for one would like to see the hard evidence of direct smuggling of elephants for the tourist from Burma?.....and I don't mean the choreograph set up filming that has been done in the past or the set up choreograph of Pajan that was done in the past. I will remind the folks on this forum that I have been living in Thailand and have been working with domesticated elephants in a elephant camp for the last 19 years. The elephants at this elephant camp are all registered and micro chipped, non of which came to Thailand from Burma. This camp has an excellent breeding program, a resident lic. vet. and provides a safe and healthy environment for the elephants. If folks would bother to actually look at this situation that the domesticated elephants are facing they would find that "domesticated elephants cannot be returned to the wild for a number of reasons. Loss of habitat is one challenge but that is not even the issue when it comes to domesticated elephants. The simple fact is domesticated elephants cannot be released to the wild do to being domesticated and they do have a strong loving bond with their mahout's and this human/elephant interaction has been going on for a long long time here in Thailand. Yes in a perfect world...................so in my expert opinion properly run elephant camps is a far better environment than the city streets or logging whether it is legal or illegal or the BS scamming NGO's that are nothing but glorified elephant camps presenting themselves as something other than what they truly are. So while there needs to be discussion on how better to take care of domesticated elephants in Thailand no one on this forum ever offers a good sound idea or common sense when commenting on this subject. I am open to see or hear real evidence that all elephant camps are abusing the elephants. I know for sure the elephant camp that I am connected to, is doing the very best to provide a safe and healthy environment for the elephants there. 

[Jonmarleesco]

Another issue for the NCPO to address.

[Bigfarang1948]

Yea, seeing a young elephant with its ribs and hip bones clearly standing out, most likely because it was taken from its mother's milk way to young is a sad sight. Feeding these beautiful animals sugarcane is not the nourishment  young elephant needs

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

[Pattszero]

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

[lostmebike]

@MILT

 

What do you make of the mahout's that parade elephants around town?

 

Just asking. 

[h90]

 

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

 

 

but complete drunk mahouts that parade elephants around towns is surely worse.

Not breed or import elephants for a couple of years would be good....there are far too many. Go down to 1/4 of the amounts of elephants and take care that they live happy and enjoy the tourist shows as well (they do).

[cooked]

 

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

 

 

It can be done differently, there are elephant camps that do it right. The problem is that clueless idiots like yourself have never seen a video of a young elephant whose mother has either been shot or poisoned being 'broken'. Or maybe you have and you think it's 'cool'. All good clean fun, trapped inside a very small cage for days, being jabbed and not allowed to sleep until they 'comply'. No elephant whisperers in Thailand, not among the Thais anyway. I agree that logging with elephants was a thoroughly evil state of affairs but the way these young animals are smuggled in and mistreated before being presented to a delighted public is just not acceptable. It could all be done very differently and just as many people could gain their daily bread as do now. This really is the ugly side of the Thai attitude towards animals, I live on a farm here and so I am no weeping willy, I have assisted at a few killings and slaughtering of animals. My aim is to get it over with as quickly as possible,the guys don't care. I'm not saying that they are wrong, I'm saying that some education might be of some use. Especially amongst coteries of complete and utter idiots. Don't ask me to give you links on Youtube, go look for yourself.

 

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed as well as the replies.

 

Off topic posts and replies have been removed as well, this is not about the fake Long Neck Karen villages in Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai.

[lostinisaan]

 Elephants should be banned and blacklisted in Thailand.

 

Espiecially those with their beer bellies and cheap sandals, who only explain, instead of eating sugar cane.

 

But what really bugs me are those P-icks, who walk them to cities and want tourists, or innocent expats like us to buy a tiny bag of nothing, to make money.

 

 

    Just don't buy them and they'll have to stop it.

 

 

   Same goes for "begging" kids, seen all over the country, "students" in school uniforms, sampling money for some utter bs.

 

If you see students without names and school emblems on their uniforms, they're not students. 

 

 

       These people are usually bought from Cambodia and all people who think they're doing a good deed are doing exactly the opposite.

Edited July 29, 2014 by lostinisaan

[MILT]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

@MILT

 

What do you make of the mahout's that parade elephants around town?

 

Just asking. 

 

Thanks! Most of the elephants if not all that one see's walking the streets are not owned by the mahouts. My wife and I have confronted them (peacefully) and asked them if they would consider bringing the elephant to lampang Elephant hospital (at no cost to them) to have the elephant checked by a vet and employment. They told us that they would but could not because they do not own the elephant. When we asked who owns this elephant they stopped talking. Once we saw a elephant and his mahout walking out of town (Chiangmai) and asked him the same and he agreed because he owns his elephant and had been ordered by the police to leave the city. He is now working in a elephant camp earning 10,000 baht a month, free food for his elephant and has now married and has 2 children. His life and the elephant's have improved and a positive compared to begging in the streets. It is up to tourist to oppose buying bananas and sugar cane to feed the elephants. Maybe now that corruption is slowing down that this can be address in a real long term way. When I speak about the bond between Mahout and elephants it is about a culture that is generally passed on from father to son. I don't think that the mahouts that parade the elephants in the city really want to be there. They make more money begging the streets than they would working in a elephant camp. They can make 10,000 about in one night because tourist will buy the bananas and sugar cane. There is no quick answer to this problem but I do think that a proper run elephant camp is a great start to stopping this form of abuse. 

[h90]

 

 

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

 

 

It can be done differently, there are elephant camps that do it right. The problem is that clueless idiots like yourself have never seen a video of a young elephant whose mother has either been shot or poisoned being 'broken'. Or maybe you have and you think it's 'cool'. All good clean fun, trapped inside a very small cage for days, being jabbed and not allowed to sleep until they 'comply'. No elephant whisperers in Thailand, not among the Thais anyway. I agree that logging with elephants was a thoroughly evil state of affairs but the way these young animals are smuggled in and mistreated before being presented to a delighted public is just not acceptable. It could all be done very differently and just as many people could gain their daily bread as do now. This really is the ugly side of the Thai attitude towards animals, I live on a farm here and so I am no weeping willy, I have assisted at a few killings and slaughtering of animals. My aim is to get it over with as quickly as possible,the guys don't care. I'm not saying that they are wrong, I'm saying that some education might be of some use. Especially amongst coteries of complete and utter idiots. Don't ask me to give you links on Youtube, go look for yourself.

 

 

 

It can be done differently, specially when there are less elephants (=higher profit, =better educated mahouts) and checks from government and NGOs. Having a "mahout" license and on the first problem the elephant and the license will be taken away.

All elephants should be chipped, and DNA recorded. Maybe also partially from the wild one. Every baby elephant must be DNA tested to check his parents. And long jail terms if someone try to fake it.

[Pattszero]

 

 

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

 

 

but complete drunk mahouts that parade elephants around towns is surely worse.

Not breed or import elephants for a couple of years would be good....there are far too many. Go down to 1/4 of the amounts of elephants and take care that they live happy and enjoy the tourist shows as well (they do).

 

 

Street elephants are banned in Chiang Mai, and I believe in the rest of Thailand too?

 

That is the type of campaign that people should get behind - and I have no problem with people campaigning for better standards within the camps. 

 

Campaigning for camp closure is ludicrous. 

 

Now you are suggesting an effective cull of 3/4 of the captive herd?  Based upon what?  

 

I know of seven elephant camps personally that rely upon tourism money so that they can buy mistreated elephants.

 

Yes, sometimes they have to buy them.

 

Did you know that?    

Edited July 29, 2014 by Pattszero

[Pattszero]

 

 

 

Elephant tourism should be banned. Thailand and other countries should be internationally prohibited from running elephant shows.

 

Garbage - plenty of these camps give these elephants a life far better than they had when they were used for logging.  

 

There's a coterie of complete and utter idiots campaigning against elephant camps in this country - and it's mainly being driven by total clown bloggers. 

 

Clueless idiots that don't realize what they are campaigning for is a mass cull of elephants.  

 

 

It can be done differently, there are elephant camps that do it right. The problem is that clueless idiots like yourself have never seen a video of a young elephant whose mother has either been shot or poisoned being 'broken'. Or maybe you have and you think it's 'cool'. All good clean fun, trapped inside a very small cage for days, being jabbed and not allowed to sleep until they 'comply'. No elephant whisperers in Thailand, not among the Thais anyway. I agree that logging with elephants was a thoroughly evil state of affairs but the way these young animals are smuggled in and mistreated before being presented to a delighted public is just not acceptable. It could all be done very differently and just as many people could gain their daily bread as do now. This really is the ugly side of the Thai attitude towards animals, I live on a farm here and so I am no weeping willy, I have assisted at a few killings and slaughtering of animals. My aim is to get it over with as quickly as possible,the guys don't care. I'm not saying that they are wrong, I'm saying that some education might be of some use. Especially amongst coteries of complete and utter idiots. Don't ask me to give you links on Youtube, go look for yourself.

 

 

 

It can be done differently, specially when there are less elephants (=higher profit, =better educated mahouts) and checks from government and NGOs. Having a "mahout" license and on the first problem the elephant and the license will be taken away.

All elephants should be chipped, and DNA recorded. Maybe also partially from the wild one. Every baby elephant must be DNA tested to check his parents. And long jail terms if someone try to fake it.

 

 

You do realize that many of these elephant camps are producing a turnover in excess of 2 million baht a month already?   

 

It's profit that's driving the camps.  

[Loles]

There is not nice side of elephant tourism at all.

[Pattszero]

There is not nice side of elephant tourism at all.

 

Yes there is - 

 

http://www.saveelephant.org/  

 

And that is only one among many.