Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE ELEPHANT DEBATE
Thailand's emblematic animal is one of its strongest tourism draws. But the quality of the encounters and the wel-
fare of the animals vary greatly. Government regulations offer little to no oversight, as they still classify elephants
as modes of transport.
Without regulations, elephant welfare is left to consumers and other business owners, resulting in disagree-
ments about what is safe and profitable. One of the biggest critics of elephant tourism is Sangduen (Lek) Chailert,
whose Elephant Nature Park offers a successful alternative to the traditional elephant-as-entertainment model.
Khun Lek questions the safety and dignity of such popular elephant entertainment as riding. At her park, ele-
phant riding is expressly excluded because many of her elephants suffer from mental illness and she feels that it is
not a natural activity for the animals.
'Most of our elephants are rescued from traumatising situations, from injuries that have caused them to be han-
dicapped, and more. It is one of the reasons I never want them to be disturbed again', explains Khun Lek. 'There
are many ways to enjoy these beautiful giants with soft adventures [feeding and bathing]. I think it is not neces-
sary for humans to be entertained by riding.'
The wider elephant tourism community recognises the need to curtail abuses at irresponsible facilities, but they
don't always agree with Khun Lek about her specific examples of abuse. Patara (Pat) Trungprakan of Patara
Elephant Farm, sees elephant riding as part of a health regimen.
'Elephants need exercise. They need to sink into the mud and sand to file their nails. Foot infection is one of
the primary causes of death in captive elephants', says Khun Pat.
He gives the following tips to ensure safety of the creature during riding. 'The elephant should be fitted with a
custom wooden seat; there should be special padding between the seat and the hide to prevent chafing and the
elephant should be bathed beforehand to prevent skin irritation.'
Khun Pat's best practices for elephant welfare includes reproduction. 'Elephants have the right to be mother
and father. If they have babies, they are doing what nature wants', says Khun Pat. 'Ask the camps how many ele-
phant babies they have. Do they have a high birth rate, low death rate? Then they are taking care of the ele-
phants.'
The other problem area for Khun Lek is the process of training elephants. 'I support many ways of the mahouts
and the ways they are in terms of the traditional dress, the traditional ceremonies that bless, but nothing that in-
cludes animal abuse. I don't support the part of training animals by violence', says Khun Lek. The metal instru-
ment (often referred to as a 'hook') used by mahouts to steer, communicate and reprimand elephants is seen by
Khun Lek and other animal rights activists as an instrument of abuse.
'Many places in Thailand now don't use the hook and now use a bamboo stick, which is a good start. Before,
no one believed they could control elephants without a hook, but today when they visit ENP [Elephant Nature
Park] they can see that some things can be changed.'
Khun Pat doesn't see the hook as an inherently evil tool, but says that the degree to which it is used depends on
the mahout. 'This tool is needed to keep elephants and humans safe. These are 5-tonne animals and one small
man. If the elephant tries to grab vines growing on electricity lines, the mahout uses the hook to keep the elephant
from electrocuting itself.' He also explains that food is often a more effective motivator in elephant training.
Proper medical treatment is another vital component of elephant welfare from Khun Pat's perspective. At some
facilities, it isn't profitable to adequately address the elephants' health needs or to retire sick elephants from ser-
vice. 'The animals also have the right to be restored to the best health possible as soon as possible. Keeping an
elephant sick is unacceptable.'
The dialogue about what is safe for elephants, economically viable for their caretakers and entertaining for vis-
itors continues, and will hopefully result in a more humane industry.
Flight of the Gibbon
ZIPLINING
