Once again, here's why people should think twice about riding elephants
We're sure you don't need to be told, but riding elephants is not good.
A new report by World Animal Protection titled Taken For A Ride says that 3 in 4 elephants in tourist entertainment venues around Asia are living in poor, unacceptable welfare conditions.
There's also been a 30 per cent increase in the number of elephants at tourism venues since 2010, when the animal protection group first investigated wildlife entertainment.
Many of these venues are subjecting elephants to severe treatment, as part of training to ensure they're submissive enough to perform.
"Elephants are wild animals with instincts for the wild. Before they can be used for tourist rides or shows, they must go through a torturous breaking in process in which they are essentially starved and beaten into submission – all when they are just babies," Ben Pearson, Senior Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection, said in a statement via email.
The report is a result of an 18-month investigation into 220 elephant tourism venues in Thailand, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia, totalling 2,923 endangered Asian elephants. Thailand is home to three quarters of the elephants assessed in the study.
Fortunately, attitudes and conditions are changing: 194 elephants in 13 venues were found to be living in high welfare conditions, which mean they are allowed to freely roam and socialise, with direct tourist interaction prohibited.
"If you can ride, hug or have a selfie with an elephant chances are that animal has been subjected to cruelty," Pearson added.
The tide is also shifting with travel operators. Last year, TripAdvisor stopped selling tickets to attractions which involve physical contact with captive wild animals or endangered species in.
If you're looking for elephant-friendly tourist activities, the group has compiled a list of things to spot at venues on your next trip.
Topics Animals
