Big problem: Thailand leads the pack in Asia for abuse of tourist elephants, report says

Twice as many elephants work in Thailand’s tourism industry as the rest of Asia combined, with the vast majority kept in “severely inadequate conditions”, a new report revealed on Thursday.

The world’s largest land mammal is a huge draw for tourists across two continents. But while Africa’s elephants are more likely to be spotted roaming vast nature reserves, their Asian cousins are less fortunate.

A multimillion-dollar industry has flourished in recent decades with tourists taking rides on the giant beasts or watching them perform in circus shows.

Researchers from World Animal Protection spent two years visiting 220 venues using elephants across Asia, in what they describe as the most comprehensive survey to date of a rapidly growing, lucrative, but poorly regulated industry.

Their data shows pachyderm welfare routinely came in second place to turning a fast profit, with three-quarters of Asia’s captive elephants kept in conditions that were rated poor or unacceptable.