Animal rights group calls out ‘cruel’ elephant tourism in Asia
More than three-quarters of elephants engaged in Asia’s tourism industry are kept in ‘severely cruel’ conditions, says animal welfare group World Animal Protection.
It says 77% of elephants across the region including Thailand, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal and Sri Lanka are chained day and night when not used for trekking or entertainment and have very little interaction with other elephants.
It also says they are fed poor diets and lack access to proper veterinary care.
Thailand leads the way with about 4,000 elephants, many of which are used in the tourism industry.
"We want to change the demand from elephant riding and elephant shows towards activities that are elephant-friendly, such as observing elephants," Jan Schmidt-Burbach, a wildlife expert at World Animal Protection said.
"If you can ride or have a selfie with the animal, chances are that is cruel to the animal."
World Animal Protection says the elephant tourism industry in Thailand has grown by about 30% since 2010.
The report estimates there is demand for about 12.8 million elephant rides in Thailand alone based on data gleaned from tourists from the top 10 source markets.
"Venues that offer tourists a chance to watch elephants in genuine sanctuaries are beacons of hope that can encourage the urgently needed shift in the captive elephant tourism industry," Schmidt-Burbach added.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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