ID Cards To Be Issued For Elephants

[Jai Dee]

ID cards will be issued for elephants

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will collect information about all domesticated elephants in Thailand and issue ID cards for them within two years.

Assistant to minister Noppadon Patthama (นภดล ปัทมะ) said related laws will be amended to require owners of the elephants to apply for the ID for every elephant calf within 30 days after it was born.

Mr. Noppadon said the ID issued for newly-born elephants will be renewed when the animals are five, 10, 15 and 30 years old. The elephants will be taken photographs and have microchips implanted when it is one month old, he said.

Mr. Noppadon said the survey and registration of 3,00-4,000 elephants in Thailand should be completed in two years. He also said a law will be issued to ban elephant hunting, elephant exports and abuse of elephants.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 25 August 2006

[chownah]

I think that the elephant ID card is a great idea in that it should help to eliminate or to mitigate for the problems created when they run amok or are illegally brought to Bangkok by their owners and it could provide the beginning of a way to give a better assurance that they are treated properly.

[sriracha john]

shame they don't institute a similar program for water buffaloes... they too need equal protection...

[poorfarang]

How long until we see Counterfit Elephant ID cards being sold on Khao San Road for 300 baht?

[britmaveric]

ID cards?? What about the Soi Dogs???

[Ricardo]

Q1. How will they get the elephant into the photo-booth - to take its passport-photo ?

Q2. Will the elephants have to re-register their home address, with Immigration, every 90 days ?

Q3. How do they plan to persuade the Night Safari elephants to return home - after visa-runs ?

etcetera, etcetera, etcetera

[Galong]

Probably a good idea, but I'm sure there will be loopholes. There's a lot of money to be made by capturing wild elephants. Getting an ID card can't be that difficult if you grease the right palms.

If there's money to be made by exploiting animals, there are people lined up to do so...

[Johpa]

Probably a good idea, but I'm sure there will be loopholes. There's a lot of money to be made by capturing wild elephants. Getting an ID card can't be that difficult if you grease the right palms.

If there's money to be made by exploiting animals, there are people lined up to do so...

Again, I really doubt there is much effort being placed in capturing wild elephants. There are far too many underemployed elephants for easy purchase and far too few wild elephants in the National Parks. The price would depend upon such factors as age, gait, and personality, but we sold our mother and young elephant for B600,000 for the pair, probably figure 400,000 for the mother (a healthy reproductive female with very positive attributes) and maybe 200,000 for the young untrained female.

In order to capture a wild elephant you would need a fairly large team, a vet to drug the animal, a large truck for transport, not to mention the need to bribe a number of people including local police, local National Park officials and local Forestry officials.

The biggest change in elephant ownership over the past few decades is the concentration of ownership away from the indpendent traditional elephant folks like the Karen and the Suay to wealthier individuals. Now some of those individuals are caring owners whilst some are less caring. Insuring minimum health and care standards at the pang changs (elephant camps) would be a better investment for Thailand.

There is already a government elephant registry. It is certainly not a bad idea to have a DNA data base. But if the cost of all this is to be carried by the owner then it just places an additional burden upon the small owner who is barely scraping by as it is.

Edited August 25, 2006 by Johpa

[Nignoy]

I think that the elephant ID card is a great idea in that it should help to eliminate or to mitigate for the problems created when they run amok or are illegally brought to Bangkok by their owners and it could provide the beginning of a way to give a better assurance that they are treated properly.

what a great idea,the elephants coming to sydney and melbourne have already got passports, now the australian govt are going to issue them with phonecards , so they can make trunk calls nignoy

[astral]

April 1st AGAIN???????????????