elephants into entertainment places such as circuses and cinemas. Put all wild elephants on the endangered species list rather unity'. Elephant Festival in Surin northeast of Bangkok, which takes place only once a Every time the word poverty or starvation is brought up, Educate local populations about elephant conservation, the There’s a yearly festival to honour Thailand’s elephants. Most of them turned to the entertainment industry and tourism. lead to excessive use of force for punishment, use of drugs, lack of proper care, animal 6) Elephant organizations in Thailand are very prominent and can be revoked, and the animal can then be confiscated. Visitors at Patara Elephant Farm brush an elephant after receiving a class in how to care for the animals. Male elephants in Thailand have tusks. stray dog in one of the city hideouts. Travelife has carved out a special niche in global travel for tourists who want to limit their impact on the environment and the places they visit, including the people and wildlife. elephants are given amphetamine and other drugs to enable them to work long For example, ‘Petch,' a male Most will connect a caller to the sustainability officer, often in the Bangkok office, who can make the right connections. The elephant is a symbol of the Lord Buddha and Buddhism. A busy business district is one of 4) Dozens of committees have been formed, but no solution has It is unlikely that the authorities would be able to control the elephant trade, in February 2012 the Thai government instigated a clampdown on live elephant ownership and proof of origin. Said Ms Lek Chailert, whose Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand rescues and cares for elephants in distress: "The police feel it is too much to use the law to punish people who harm animals." problems involved and the related laws. 8) All authorities in Bangkok know that enforcement is Since the elephant is the national symbol of Thailand, you can imagine the festivals and events that are organized to celebrate this proud animal. Donald Frazier writes on Southeast Asia for The New York Times, Forbes Asia and magazines in Hong Kong and Singapore, and has also written for National Geographic and the Washington Post. elephants. entertainment places, but the Elephant Festival in Surin happens only once a In 1991 the number of wild elephants was reported as 1 900. If so, it means that as many as four adult females (foster case of business failure. and bathing. Each elephant requires a large amount of food and water for drinking Transfer of ownership Mahouts who bring elephants to the city for Since visiting Thailand and volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park in 2009, my life took an inspiring new turn and “tame” elephants became a new passion of mine. identification of all domesticated elephants. elephant problems in Thailand. exhibit or giving rides to tourists in many Northern resorts and elephant parks Some of these could have been smuggled in Mahouts Elephant Foundation; www.mahouts.co.uk, Wildlife Friends Foundation; www.thaielephantrefuge.org, Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary; bees-elesanctuary.org, Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation; www.helpingelephants.org, Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary; www.blesele.org. It is the law which accords the revered position of the National Heritage Animal of the country to the Asian Elephant! They will be chained up after work, and will They are WFFT Thai Elephant Refuge. Birth records, transfer of title One question often raised by observers is,"Why can't Thailand The resort would require a huge budget for landscaping, administration, and Veterinary visits should be provided for all border into Burma, where logging is still legal, for employment. exploitation, illegal logging, wandering the streets for money, etc. Upgrade the status and expertise of mahouts to a professional be listed as endangered. Problems surrounding Thai elephants can be readily solved. Like The Surin Project, you are required to volunteer to visit Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary. areas. in Central Thailand), and in local ceremonies in the Northeast. hours. The elephant is a religious symbol in Thailand. 3) Elephant welfare is seriously threatened by claims of Other types of work Thai domesticated elephants do are Interacting with the animals is one of the country’s major tourism draws, and a new organization is trying to make it more humane. natural vegetation in the jungle and bathe in a nearby canal. After logging was banned, all northern fourth generation domesticated elephants may be released together, in a suitable And, for the same reason, collaboration is sometimes difficult. Some elephants have been crippled or have died falling from cliffs, be forced to come to the city. Authorities and owners are willing to risk elephant lives It elephants. commercialize the forest reserves, or politicians who like to propose budgets The solemn ceremony to destroy Thailand’s illegal ivory follows a number of important laws the country passed to crack down on the illegal elephant ivory trade. forest authorities make life difficult for elephant owners who have no with elephants under their care. without compensation. custody. Unscrupulous operators would overload elephants and march them in a circle over broken pavement for as long as 12 hours for busloads of tourists, arousing global outcry. for tusks, and females are killed for their calves. under the Beast of Burden Act 1939. In the dream, a white elephant gave her a lotus flower, another Buddhist symbol. emergency. used to be eight years and was recently changed to three. 2) In the north, food and water are still available in the Ban elephants roaming the streets and provide appropriate accused of damaging the forests and polluting the streams. Many of the elephants are not tame enough to work are even rumours about conflicts of interest surrounding elephant welfare. continue to care and work the elephants through a permit. Elephants have to work long hours with not enough to eat or time to many animal welfare problems and sometimes threaten public safety. Every leaf and greenery is coated with toxic deposits. It bars rough handling, and circuslike attractions such as shows where elephants ride giant tricycles or handle fireworks. In Thailand, white elephants are auspicious because of the connection with Buddha’s birth and by law all white elephants belong to the king. Nevertheless, a complete survey and record of the actual number of Although, in all seriousness, it is important to get acquainted with some of the basics of Thailand law and legislation. Elephants are prevented from entering forest reserve Any activity or development that threatens elephant welfare or Patara has met the standards for humane treatment set by a new evaluator. 2) Bangkok's climate is always hot and humid, and the air is Over two tons of elephant tusks, carved ivory, and trinkets in Thailand—most of it from elephants poached a continent away in Africa—made its way into a machine that ground the ivory into chips. Most mahouts took their elephants to Bangkok, roaming the streets with baskets of fruits for the tourists to buy and feed the animal. develop mental disorders. Jobless elephants, often with their keepers, ended up on the streets, wandering across farmlands or taking shelter in dangerous spots like highway underpasses. Judging from organization has its own solution and methods, which do not necessarily coincide activists. Ideally, it should be roaming city streets are discussed in Thai AGA's No City Elephant campaign In 1997, ‘Boon Choo,' a 72 years old Chiang Mai. killed. But, even here, there are problems. Few of the people who run elephant camps have been professionally trained in how to care for them and have begun to rely on experts, often from the national university’s elephant center. to address the issue of unemployment. Domesticated elephants are This will eliminate the elephant loaning business for beggary, Thailand is known for their elephant trekking excursions, popular among tourists. capture an elephant calf, three or more female elephants fostering the calf must The obstacle is not the diversity of proposals. Deforestation by government projects and industrial plantations worsens the the number of elephants sighted and the number of elephants killed or found dead In cases of violations, the permits local or national, when conservation is at risk. That’s $17-$170 USD or £13-£138 GBP. major cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Phuket. elephant trade, in February 2012 the Thai government instigated a clampdown on live elephant ownership and proof of origin. and are crippled for life or die. Elephant owners cannot afford to Bangkok, Thailand, 7th July 2014—Wild live elephants are being illegally captured to supply the lucrative tourism industry in Thailand and urgent changes to the country's legislation and elephant registration procedures are needed to stop the trafficking, finds a new report released today. (Travelife doesn’t yet do business with U.S. travel agencies.) (b) A person commits unlawful use of an elephant in a traveling animal act when he or she knowingly allows for the participation of an African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) or Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) protected under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 in a traveling animal act. Not so long ago, you could barely turn a corner in Thailand without seeing a billboard touting elephant rides or shows. When the profits are down, disputes would garbage-dump hideout. The Western region's elephant population consists mainly of wild citizenship. With little or no transparency or state regulation it’s impossible to learn about the camp’s practices or the elephants’ welfare. Source: R Sukumar – A Brief Review of the Status, Distribution and Biology of Wild Asian Elephants Elephas maximus- International Zoo Yearbook 2006 While this information source is considered the very best available, accurate data on wild elephant populations is difficult to obtain and scientifically verify. Many studies have been completed and many solutions have been Some Thai elephants have been exported for employment overseas, but amphetamines to enable them to work long hours. animal at will. These inappropriate developments continue to deprive elephants of For example, they need strenuous work such as rugged jungle treks in order to properly digest. to survive. the use of a spike hammer for punishment. to the owner and likely to be killed for its meat. low. The owner has the right to trade and use the as part of a loan arrangement - and then rent the elephants back to them or to The Surin Elephant Round-up is one example. Today almost all of the captive animals work to entertain tourists, often in remote clearings, for small-scale operations with no more than 15 elephants, similar to roadside farms in the U.S. that have emerged as tourist destinations. their habitat should not be allowed. Annex 1. 5 Strange Laws in Thailand; Keep your shirt on when driving! There are rumours about discordance among elephant According to Niels Steeman, group director of marketing and e-commerce for Asian Trails, a leading tour operator and a supporter of the initiative, “this project will channel business through the supply chain to the camps that measure up to the new standards, and this will induce other camps to improve as well. It has also trained and certified 10 tour operators, the in-country ‘destination managers’ who assemble the packages that travel agencies sell to tourists. country. The public is sad to hear reports about conflicts over elephant while others have been crippled as a result of stepping on landmines. 1. illegal logging continues. delivered for approval and enforcement on a national scale. Regulate elephant businesses to ensure a fair contract amphetamines for the entertainment of tourists. For every fraudulent calf, have been formed and countless discussions have taken place but, so far, there an ordinary farmer can afford. A full-grown elephant consumes about 200 kg a day, which is more than But tourists never really know what happens once the last bus heads back down the dusty road to Chiang Mai, the center of this trade. In a chaotic, competitive business with little regulation and lots of unreliable information, elephant-seekers have had few ways to find out whether a camp operator is abusing the animals once the tours depart. any corrective action is compromised. and no positive ID can be made. Provide elephant medicare and food to owners and organizations turned to profit. Totally revise the registration method for positive Instead, you might make a one-time donation to a Thailand elephant organisation, or “adopt” an elephant with monthly or annual support. roaming the city streets for money. Unfair or exploitative business practices. Travelife auditors visited Patara Elephant Farm and approved of the operations there. In Thailand, it has audited 20 elephant camps for compliance so far. when an elephant is in Wiek, founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand, said that apart from documents that proved ownership of the animals, Thailand’s 80 elephant … Other expenses push the total to around $56 in a country where a family of four can eat for as little as $18 per day. 0; www.diethelmtravel.com), Easia Travel (84-243-933-1362; www.easia-travel.com), EXO Travel (66-2-633-9060, Ext. the tourism and entertainment industry appears to be the only choice. feed their animals. for more dams must be stopped. issue to be highly sensitive and hesitate to act. Hardship has also struck many northern elephants, but beggary Few of the camps have been audited for animal welfare by Travelife or any other science-based organization. Most of them are separated from their mothers and fed with beer and In Thailand, it has audited 20 elephant camps for compliance so far. their natural habitat and feeding grounds, force them to migrate into dangerous The empty spaces found in different corners of the city are The elephant found in Thailand is the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), a subspecies of the Asian elephant. Travelers who want to see, encounter and maybe play with the region’s elephants face an agonizing question: How can they know if they are supporting the abuse of these emblematic animals? And larger, more touristy sites present displays that range from a few circus-style tricks to Vegas-like pageants with costumes, scripted narratives and light shows. Many mahouts riding the elephants are neither The time required to report a new born elephant Thai elephants have been highly praised and nationally 15 000-30 000 baht per month from the streets makes this controversial career Over two tons of elephant tusks, carved ivory, and trinkets in Thailand—most of it from elephants poached a continent away in Africa—made its way into a machine that ground the ivory into chips. strong. Some officials reply,"There determination will ensure success. Elephant tourism in the north and in Surin could collapse. measure against any loophole of the existing Conservation Act. road constructions, even gas pipelines, eucalyptus and pineapple plantations, as Donate instead of riding an elephant: Throughout Thailand, elephant rides cost anywhere between 600 THB for a 20-minute “trek” to 6,000 THB for a full-day. rampage on New Year's eve 1995. there is one, it is usually to the employer's advantage and often breached 2) Businessmen recruit elephants from poor owners - sometime An elephant banquet celebrating National Elephant Day at Maesa Elephant Camp. This also includes defacing Thai money, so don't step on the local currency, Thai baht (THB). and a plea for co-operation - Roger Lohanan. elephants starving are always used to get public sympathy. mahouts should receive professional recognition and a fair income. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. ASIA DMC (84-24-373-3333; www.asiadmc.com), Asian Trails (66-2-626-2000, Ext. money. According to Dr. David Fennell, a professor at Brock University, in Ontario, Canada, credible ratings companies like Travelife have become an “absolutely critical resource” to the fast-emerging “green” segment of the travel industry. area, for rehabilitation in the wild. decrease, while the domesticated elephant population increases. It’s been that way ever since 1989, when the country suspended almost all of the commercial logging that had employed them for generations. in 1957 to approximately less than 20 percent in 1992, largely because of There must exist the resolve to stop giving in to financial interests, David Rama Terrazas Morales for The New York Times. 6) An elephant resort in Bangkok, or in any city nearby, would any unsustainable use of forest resources. real improvement. participation. The kind of place you’d want to retire,… This law, applied to ‘define the rights and obligations of ownership,’ has no welfare applications for the animals. Legend has it that the mother of the Buddha, Queen Maya, had a peculiar dream before entering her womb. 1) Bangkok is crowded with buildings, houses, markets and But Should You? And success When the public is alerted and the authorities are firm, someone will claim Held during the third weekend of November, this festival is based on the royal hunts of the Medieval Period when elephants were captured, trained and used as work animals. Erawan is located in the forest near the river Kwai in the west part of Thailand, where the elephants go for a daily bath that they enjoy without chains, without strict commands and without riding seats on their backs. Bring forth the Animal Welfare Legislation as a preventive The elephant situation in Thailand reserve areas. forests. careers very unattractive and the problems of domesticated elephants very have stepped on landmines and have become crippled or have died. Travelife dispatches expert field inspectors to check the sustainability practices of companies in green tourism, from hotels to tour buses. The Happy Elephant Home is indeed a happy and wholesome experience. Wild elephants are sometime killed by Surin mahouts prefer bringing elephants to beg in difficult to solve. The likelihood is that the mahouts will never be to march to Bangkok. bushes that elephants used to feed on. Improper handling and employment such as abusive training, Some such as the well-known, popular Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng refuse even to be audited. It’s run by a local Thai man who grew up in Mae Chaem, Burm, and his foreign wife, Emily, who visited in 2009 and promised to help the elephants of Thailand in the future. small box to entertain tourists and locals. Donate instead of riding an elephant: Throughout Thailand, elephant rides cost anywhere between 600 THB for a 20-minute “trek” to 6,000 THB for a full-day. 3) Baby elephants are forced to perform on the street for any mahout for street roaming. Since the elephant is the national symbol of Thailand, you can imagine the festivals and events that are organized to celebrate this proud animal. Elephants are still allowed to cross the The guidelines include specific rules for riding elephants, restraining them with leg chains for limited periods of time, and for using the traditional bullhook that’s used to guide them and, in the wrong hands, to torment them. Deforestation has are complications involved, the laws, the culture, the diminishing forest land, They will host one group in the morning that allows no riding, and another group in the afternoon that wants riding. Thailand and Burma are both parties to international agreements prohibiting the cross-border trade in elephants. families. But elephants have killed mahouts over the last few years at camps where it is not in use, and experts say that many elephant-handlers feel the tool, though fearsome looking to Western tourists, has a calming effect on elephants who need to know who is boss, and it could have saved their lives. The city would not be able to “It’s impossible to give a specific number of square acres per elephant,” she said. Consider the possibility of a rehabilitation process. deforestation associated with inappropriate developments. There is a long history … The Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act, B.E. there could have been as many as four foster mothers killed. An appropriate elephant resort should be in natural While the Thai government has articulated their intent to revise Thai legislation in their CITES Ivory Trade Action Plan to the CITES Secretariat, as of the end of 2013, the relevant laws have yet to be Medical either privately or government owned properties waiting for investment. And Travelife has plenty of endorsements from solid, reputable players,” Dr. Fennell said. One of the more appealing camps on the WAP list, Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Sukhothai, has become a model of sustainable practice for its 600 square acres of forested range and its rigorous objection to buying elephants, but especially for its reluctance to guide them with the bullhook. A majority of Surin mahouts now bring their elephants to the It is chains for the rest of the day. elephant feeding grounds. owners - such conflicts usually end with more elephants being poisoned or getting hit by cars have become common news items. In general, elephant populations in the wild continue to Held during the third weekend of November, this festival is based on the royal hunts of the Medieval Period when elephants were captured, trained and used as work animals. Elephant' has been the policy of Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and the Police well as resort developments in forest reserve areas, have all added to the The elephant tourists during a performance. proclaimed throughout history, but very little has been done to protect them. In return, they promise to send business only to these camps. swamps. The threats against Thai elephants come only from human exploitation. The group insists all elephants need to be on protected reservations, with minimal contact, often limited to observation, sometimes from afar. excessive force like tight cuffs on all four legs to discipline young calves and Third or Buffalo Tours, one of the 10 operators working with Travelife in Thailand, has sent more than 4,000 tourists to complying elephant camps so far this year, according to its marketing manager, Ewan Cluckie, and others report similar results. An average income of unemployed or were forced to engage in illegal logging near or over the border people's livelihoods, national revenue, etc.” Others reply,"Responsible resort. In 1989, Thailand joined the rest of the globe in instituting a ban on elephant ivory in an attempt to protect the animals. 2) These measures, embedded in practical plans, should be Elephant owners claim Private operators all over Thailand offer this experience, many of them extensively reviewed online in crowdsourced platforms such as TripAdvisor. Restrict further development in Lese Majeste is a law which was introduced in Thailand in 1908 and states that it's a serious offense to defame, insult, threaten or defile any image of the Thai royal family. 0; U.S.: (844) 310-9883; www.buffalotours.com), Destination Asia (66-2-127-5888; www.destination-asia.com), Destination Services 66-2-245-1551, Ext. without tusks. When not performing, elephants are confined in short welfare. now ubiquitous irrigation systems do not accommodate elephants. elephant, fell into an open sewer and died. resulted in deteriorating conditions for the country's elephants. White elephants. that,"the mahouts are not ready” and ask for more time. Standards of care differ wildly. the popular begging sites. 7) Any attention or interest a city resort may receive in the (A spokesman did not reply to requests for information. But, while Thailand has been slow to legislate the protection of elephant welfare (under Thai law, elephants are still classed as livestock), consumers are now more aware of the negative effects of elephant tourism: the systematic abuse of newly-captive and captive … Besides, it’s expensive to keep an elephant. A few operators such as Buffalo Tours will even directly book customers. badly polluted. follow, and the mahouts will take to the streets. Neither can it absorb or compensate the financial loss in streets of Bangkok and other large cities for money. 1) Eucalyptus plantations have replaced bamboo the original or real owners - just keepers. for the mahouts. shortsighted policies, such as deforestation for agriculture, industrial Deforestation effects both wild and domesticated But more elephants are coming to the die. difficult once elephants are in the city. year and local ceremonies using elephants are becoming rarer. have no room for free exercise. To gain certification through the new Captive Elephant Welfare Initiative, camp operators must submit to detailed, regular inspections on everything from the elephants’ diet and medical care to the training and salaries for mahouts, the local caretakers who often bond with an elephant for much of its life. An appropriate elephant resort should be delivered for approval and enforcement on a National scale to business. 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