Riding elephants is out, washing them is in
for Trouw
Tourists wash an elephant at ElephantsWorld in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Elephant Kat quietly chews some freshly cut grass while a Spanish tourist grabs her trunk to take a selfie with her. The 52-year-old Asian elephant keeps eating and meekly allows everything to happen. “After all this tasty food, it is now time for her bath,” says the guide.
The pachyderm follows her caretaker, a mahout, to the river and a group of tourists joins them. They each get a scrubbing brush and start washing the elephant. An American woman puts her arms around the big animal and gets emotional: “I can't believe I can get so close to her.”
Kat first ‘worked’ at an elephant camp where she was ridden, but now she and ten other elephants live at ElephantsWorld in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. It's a place that describes itself as an ethical elephant sanctuary and environmental organization. A loose term, since the organization is not registered as a foundation. And with busloads of tourists visiting every day, it looks more like a business with an impressive revenue model.
Still, places like this are increasingly popular in Thailand. According to a 2020 report by World Animal Protection, the number of elephant parks offering the washing of the animals more than tripled between 2015 and 2020 in the country.
There's a lot you don't see
At ElephantsWorld, the elephants seem to have a good life. “But the industry is very misleading,” says Sanne Kuipers, wildlife campaign manager at World Animal Protection. According to the organization's research, 70 percent of elephants in Thai camps live in deplorable conditions. “An elephant can look happy and healthy, but animals in activity often don't show their stress,” Kuipers says.
“In places like that, they can hardly exhibit their natural behavior, barely have contact with other elephants. They are chained for long periods of time when they are not needed for tourist activities, with often limited shelter on concrete floors and lacking enough quality food or care.”
Moreover, there is a lot you don't see during such a visit; such as the cruelty with which the elephants are trained from an early age. “We have collected footage showing how baby elephants are severely abused to ‘break’ them, to make them listen to their caretaker. The camps deem this necessary, to make it relatively ‘safe’ for tourists to hang around these giant animals all day.”
'It's all about how it is managed'
The animal organization advises tourists to only visit places where you can observe elephants from a distance, where there is no direct contact. “Although that doesn't guarantee animal welfare either,” says Thai veterinarian Pakkanut Bandisshi. The university lecturer has been researching captive elephants since 2015. “Just as riding or using an ankhus (a sharp hook knife that caretakers often carry) does not immediately equals the elephants having a bad life. It's all about how it all is managed.”
In her research, Bandisshi looks at physical, physiological and behavioral indicators of well-being, sometimes with surprising results. “My hypothesis was that in camps where elephants are ridden, the animals experience the most stress. But after analyzing stress hormones measured in fecal samples, they turned out to be the lowest there.”
As a possible explanation, she gives the physical exercise the elephants get during this form of entertainment. An Asian elephant in the wild spends an average of 20 hours a day in motion; in captivity it’s a whole different story. “Even in places where there is no interaction, elephants often don’t walk enough. Additionally, in camps where the animals are only fed and washed, they are more likely to be obese because of all the sweet snacks they are given, such as bananas and beets.”
Cultural and spiritual status
Although elephants have had cultural and spiritual status in Thailand for centuries, elephant tourism did not really explode until 30 years ago. In the early 20th century, these powerful animals were used in the logging industry. After the destructive effect of deforestation became apparent and logging was banned in 1989, thousands of elephants ended up ‘unemployed’ on the streets. As a result, many commercial elephant camps were established, with the main activity being elephant shows and riding the animals.
In recent years, concern for elephant welfare has grown, especially among Western younger tourists and animal organizations. As a result, elephant entertainment offerings are changing, from shows and riding to washing and feeding - and there is a growing call to abolish all forms of interactive elephant tourism.
Opponents note; it’s not that simple. Releasing all elephants into Thai nature is impossible; there simply isn't enough room for them to roam free. There are some successful rewilding programs, but the lack of space also results in conflict. Either with wild elephants populations or with local residents, as the animals feast on their agricultural fields.
Moreover, the economic impact of abolition is huge. Tourism provides a livelihood for many people directly or indirectly connected to the industry. In turn, the money from tourists keeps the animals fed; an elephant easily eats 11,000 euros worth of grass a year. When visitors stayed away during the pandemic, elephants were left hungry. Some of them even died.
“Covid showed just how unsustainable and unfair this industry is,” Kuipers says. “Both for the animals and the people around them.” World Animal Protection advocates a slow phasing out of elephant tourism by creating the last generation of captive elephants. The organization's Thai branch has therefore introduced an Elephant Bill to the national government in 2021. The bill would ban the commercial breeding and export of elephants, as well as cruel training methods and any means of forcing them into unnatural behavior. The proposal still awaits approval from Thailand's prime minister.
Elephant-friendly sanctuaries
Meanwhile, the Thai veterinarian and the animal organization agree on what an elephant-friendly sanctuary looks like for the current generation of captive elephants. In a natural habitat, where the animals can exhibit natural behavior, get enough exercise and form meaningful social bonds with others. Where interaction with humans is minimized and the animals are not forced to do activities.
Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary, in northern Thailand, is such a place. There, rescued elephants live, eat and sleep in small groups in the forest, where they can go wherever they want while being watched by their caretakers. Tourists can visit to admire the elephants from a distance, and are invited to learn about and help with the behavioral research the foundation conducts.
Kerri McCrea, co-founder and manager at Kindred Spirit, says, “We think that educational aspect is very important. It fosters a sense of empathy and responsibility towards elephants and their habitat. It encourages sustainable, ethical tourism practices.” She also emphasizes the value of involving the community living around the elephants so they also benefit from tourism. Almost all the mahouts at her foundation come from the immediate area, and visitors can stay in homestays in the local village - bringing significant income to the community.
This type of elephant tourism is more expensive, both for the organization and the visitor. “The transition to an ethical model requires large investments in infrastructure, staff and marketing,” McCrea says. “That's challenging to roll out on a large scale, but small steps can be taken. Ultimately, finding a balance between cultural traditions, economic interests and ethical considerations will be crucial in shaping the future of elephant tourism in Thailand.”