Luckily, many are becoming educated as to how elephants are abused so they can perform at these shows. Some tour groups are taking elephant tours off their agendas. Congrats to them. And congrats to the tourists who avoid these shows.

Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul of TAT says: "This will not affect Thai tourism."

Yeah, a show of violence should always be the first response.

I would think there is a better way of training a young elephant than to scare it.

You dont want to see how they REALY "get trained" upcountry...

That us UNREAL DISGUSTING BARBARIC !!!

Do a search on youtube, you cant believe what you see !!!

I was in Chiang Mai about 13 years ago with my friend who was getting married to a Thai lady. His fiancee and her sister dropped us and the sisters daughter at a monkey show and told us to go to the elephant camp next door after the monkey show and take a ride while the two sisters went to take care some some last minute details for the next day's wedding. When we went to the elephant camp we were the only customers in sight and taken to a very large boarding platform that had benches built into it. Could have held 20 people I think. There was one elephant on the boarding side that was to be our ride. After about a half hour with the three of us sitting up there in the sun waiting to go for our ride we were getting hot and thirsty so my friend offered to go find some cold drinks. So me and the Thai girl who was about 6 years old give or take waited and watched our ride to be elephant swaying to and fro as they do. There seemed to be nobody else around not even staff were to be seen. Then out of the blue some Thai guy comes running up the stairs of the platform and picked up a piece of wood that looked a bit wider than a 2x4 and starts beating the elephant on top its nose. I could see no reason for this and the little girl buried her face in my lap. After the beating which seemed a long time but was probably 30 to 45 seconds the Thai pos disappears again leaving me and the girl to wonder what the heck that was all about. That's when I noticed the elephant's nose was covered in pink splotches. I'm guessing from previous beatings. When my friend returned with drinks I told him what happened and that I was not going to ride that poor beast or with those people. He agreed and as it had been almost an hour of waiting we started leaving. By the time we got to the entrance they saw us and came running out saying where you go and its okay we can go now (for the ride). My friend just made gestures of beating someone with a bat and asks why you beat elephant asking several times but we just got blank stares in return and we left. I still have not taken an elephant ride in Thailand and probably won't.

Heartbreaking, wish I never clicked to read this thread...

I've seen it within this week (but can't find it - sorry) a news story of the horrible abuse elephants go through in Thailand to "break" them so they can be ridden. Goggle elephant abuse and there's plenty there to choose from.

Yeah, a show of violence should always be the first response.

I would think there is a better way of training a young elephant than to scare it.

Agree with you but the mahout is doing as he has been trained. The fault is with the owner.

What absolute rubbish, the owner has nothing to do with the day to day interaction with the elephant, this is totally about the mahout, perhaps you should study a little before making embarrassing statements that may be used at a later date when you find your wife in bed with an animal lover.

Just dont visit elephant Camps anymore. Its the combination of greedy owners and tourist stupidity. Touroperators in Holland dont sell trips to elephantcamps anymore. More countrys have to follow.

normal Thai playfighting it looks to me, they dont realize that it scares away their income

Edited January 19, 201610 yr by phycokiller

This is why ALL the grouptours from my homecountry refuse to visit shows like these since some weeks.

But in India they use nasty sharp hooks on elephants. They stab them in the neck or pull the ears.

Also elephants don't belong in a zoo is what i'm thinking.

Unless it's been edited, the video accompanying the story supports the mahoot, he didn't strike the elephant. Take a look.

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2016/01/19/elephant-camp-responds-viral-video-mahout-throwing-punch-baby-elephant

EVERY single elephant in captivity doing tricks has been hurt to break its will...

555 don't they usually sell bananas at these places to feed the elephants? Such a lame excuse, nothing new there...

animal cruelty has no place in civilised society and, the truth is, Thailand does not consider animal rights high on any agenda of theirs

Not just the Thais, some circuses including western ones treat them the same.

animal cruelty has no place in civilised society and, the truth is, Thailand does not consider animal rights high on any agenda of theirs

Thailand doesn't consider "anythings" rights even their own people.

PS. Thailand is not civilized. Probably never will be.

Unfortunately, there ain't much involving animals in Thailand that isn't cruel, tawdry, and exploitative. Even in the little 'petting farms' for kids, a lot of the animals are kept in horrible conditions; tiny cages, covered in mange or their own feces, etc.

As a tourist or visitor to these places you unwittingly make yourself an accomplice in propagating the misery. However if you see something like this, take a photo and post it onto social media as per the opening post, and hopefully make a difference.

Now you know why so many mahouts get trampled on years later.An elephant never forgets.

ThaiNews for January 20, 2020.

Elephant kills Mahout

A 5 year old elephant killed it's mohout today after the mahout raised his fists in anger. Angel, a 20 year old elephant who lives in the same compound and who draws pictures for tourists, scrawled on a canvass, "Elephants never forget, kuai."

Regarding tour groups cancelling - I would hedge a bet the Chinese ones won't and it wouldn't enter their minds to cancel.

They will keep this industry going.

I tuck this picture last week on Ko chang this elephant was doing the stressed swaying.Then when I got home saw the sore on the side of its face and the cores stuck in the post in the background.

clearer blowup.

You should send that pic to the WWF. That's absolutely disgusting.

Yeah, a show of violence should always be the first response.

I would think there is a better way of training a young elephant than to scare it.

The traditional methods of training young elephants involve far worse than scaring it.

Elephant crushing, or a training crush is a method by which wild elephants can be tamed for domestication, using restriction in a cage, sometimes with the use of corporal punishment or negative reinforcement. This practice is condemned by a variety of animal welfare groups as a form of animal cruelty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_crushing

Which is why all visits to places where elephants are involved should be thought about carefully.

I just came back from a holiday in Phuket. Going to and from my hotel every day I had to pass an elephant camp.

It was so sad... I saw the same baby elephant chained up in a tiny compound swaying side to side and looking depressed.. it was never taken out of that small room, next to a busy road, all week.. and had to put up with lots of tourists touching, poling and slapping it all day, while its trainer was pushing it about and pulling its ears.

Another elephant was kept chained up all week outside a wooden shack. It was an adult and looked really thin and dirty. No water and just a few wilted piles of grass on the muddy floor. This one was out of sight of the tourists and spent its time swaying side to side and pulling on its leg chains.

I can't understand how anyone can allow animals to be treated like this... and how most people don't care or are too stupid to see the suffering that the poor elephants have to go through all their lives.

look how the scum people (not all thais) of this country treat each other....why should we expect them to treat animals any different?

You mean the Farlangs living in Thailand are much more caring just like brothers and sisters in arms?

I wonder if you would even give another person the time of day?