Elephant tourism: the fight in Asia against unethical operators steps up
- Separated as babies from their mothers, kept tightly chained in the sun with scant food or water, prodded with bull hooks to perform - Asia’s elephants suffer
- Groups promoting the right way to interact with the animals urge tourists to report and put up social media posts about cruel practices they see
Rows of elephants chained up in cramped stables, saddles resting heavy on their backs. Mahouts – trainers – standing close by, clutching sharp bull hooks. Nearby, groups of tourists wait to mount the beasts ahead of an exhausting trek through jungle.
This is a common sight across Asia. It is also one that organisations promoting the ethical treatment of elephants are trying to stamp out through a series of initiatives. One such initiative – the inaugural Elephant Travel Mart, organised by the Save Elephant Foundation and Asian Elephant Projects – took place this month in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s elephant capital, and brought together operators of ethical elephant tours and tour agencies.
“Elephant tourism in Asia has traditionally relied on elephants being used for riding, street begging and performing demeaning tricks for tourists,” says Ry Emmerson, projects director at the Save Elephant Foundation. “Visitors to Asia should understand that behind the scenes, the elephants are suffering at many camps and circuses.”
When we speak, Emmerson has just returned from a five-day mission in remote northern Thailand, where he helped a wild baby elephant who had lost his herd and needed urgent medical care.
He explains that elephant tourism is widespread in the region, from elephant tours and zoos to circuses and street performances in which the animals perform tricks and paint pictures. Often-unwitting tourists help perpetuate the industry, which campaigners say is still tainted by cruelty, despite efforts to bring about change.