One of Thailand’s most well-known tourist attractions is an elephant knowledge, but visitors should exercise caution and follow moral rules by not touching the animals when visiting elephant camps.
World Animal Protection Thailand has urged tents to stop using animals to inspire tourists, and it is also asking that tourists be prohibited from engaging in hands-on activities like cleaning and feeding.
Many vacationers have expressed problems in finding a” certainly ethical” no-touch temple, with some opting out of the practice altogether. The Livestock Department estimates that Chiang Mai, Thailand’s center for elephant commerce, has about 90 tents and has 871 animals to choose from.
Although many temples are marketed as “ethical,” they also provide visitors with close encounters with animals and mud bathing experiences.
Because they all made up their own opinions, it was challenging to find an honest temple. But, when we delved a little deeper, we realized that some places offer pools or handfeed elephants, but still think they are moral,” said LuLu Foures, a student from a French school traveling through Chiang Mai.
Another reason why people are taking more steps when choosing to participate in rhino experience is the demise of a 22-year-old Spanish holiday at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center in the southern state of Phangnga in December 2024.
Maggie Gibson, 22, a traveller from New Zealand, said:” We consciously chose to go to a no-touch temple because it felt bad. The passing of our spouse further strengthened our choice. Animals don’t want to be touched, so we shouldn’t feel them.
Based on data from the Livestock Department, there are 5, 359 cultivated elephants in 245 elephant tents global.
According to Trunks Up, a qualified organization dedicated to protecting Asian animals, 55.8 % of elephants in Thailand reside in prison, in camps or sanctuaries that depend on tourism for life.
According to Trunks Up, the truth about corporate rhinoceros tourism can be unsightly. Elephants continue to be kept in violent, harsh conditions despite the rise in greenwashed marketing tactics and the rise of businesses advertising themselves as sanctuaries.
Catherine Baldwin, a solo backpacker from the United Kingdom, was opposed to visiting an elephant sanctuary immediately.
” Oftentimes, even with the deepest studies, you can’t always be certain you’re provided with the information. I really find it a little strange, which makes it difficult to enjoy”, said Ms Baldwin.
Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary in Chiang Mai is an example of a no-touch, no-bathing, no-feeding rhino encounter, where travellers observe the rescued animals roaming freely from far.
Billy, a guide who has worked at the shelter for 10 years, said:” We like to defend the elephant ‘ happiness. Instead of being touched, we want to see them content.
The location is a haven for five rescued animals who had been forced to work in logging for ages. They now have 50 acres ( 126 rai ) of land on which to roam.
A jvm from a Karen community cares for each elephant, whose skill is passed down through the generations.
Billy explained that Blue Daily does not permit visitors to swim or feed the animals, unlike some Chiang Mai temples. If they do not have the freedom to choose, animals do not like to be bathed, he said.
LuLu Foures made the decision to go with Blue Daily after researching what felt truly moral in her Chiang Mai rhino encounter. ” For them, it is essential to enable the animals become animals. It was never the other way around; we followed the animals and moved at their speed. If the animals want to view, therefore they approach, but it is never initiated by the human”, she explained.
World Animal Protection ( WAP ) estimated that before Covid-19, elephants generated up to US$ 770 million ( about 25.8 billion baht ) a year for Thailand. The pandemic greatly impacted the business, leaving shrines reliant on outside donations. One shelter that received charitable donations in the wake of Covid-19 was Blue Daily.
One single traveller, who wished to remain anonymous, spent a month working at Chiang Mai’s Elephant Nature Park, a temple founded by Saengduean Chailert, an internationally acclaimed pioneer in rhino security.
The traveler was a member of a group of 50 people who paid to volunteers and get information on Asian elephant and their problems. The class worked for 4–6 hours, cleanup and rebuilding the area after the new Chiang Mai floods, and working in the “elephant home” preparing meals for the animals.
A volunteer remarked,” I know a lot of people were concerned about this being another unethical sanctuary, but everyone said that the feeling vanished after seeing how well the elephants were treated and the dedication of Lek ( Saengduen’s nickname ) and her husband Darrick.
The sanctuary is building a skywalk to allow visitors to stay yet more uninsightful than they are right now.
The elephant tourism industry in Thailand has a significant impact on the life of thousands of people who rely on the rhino industry for their salary, so the debate continues.
Yet, the possibility of “ethical” misleading in sanctuaries that also provide touch and bathing experiences could keep visitors from visiting immediately.