Elephant visits in Thailand: is it ethical?

The (not so) ethical sanctuary

I really felt a bit cheated after researching these self-proclaimed sanctuaries. I am not lumping them all together, definitely keep reading to find out what are indeed good sanctuaries.

What am I talking about, you may be thinking? We live in a time where, fortunately, more and more tourists are aware that riding an elephant is not okay (anymore??), so the revenue in this is dropping considerably. So what do they do? They look for an alternative to make money. And voilà, there you have the ‘elephant washing’ attraction. This has now become a huge industry and suddenly every park is a sanctuary. And that’s pretty clever. Because the word ‘sanctuary’ makes you think it is ethical, that you are doing a good deed, and people are happy to give money to it. But be aware that this is usually a marketing ploy.

Consider this. If you ran an animal sanctuary, where animal welfare is obviously paramount, would you have your elephants washed daily by strange people, causing the elephants an awful lot of stress?

By the way, did you know that the number of elephants in captivity in Thailand has increased by 70% over the past decade? Crazy huh, considering that the number of elephant rides has decreased. And on top of that, all these elephants have to be tamed to get along well with humans, tourists. Because these are dangerous animals, we’re not talking about dogs here.

Do you still think that all those elephants in such a shelter are rescued animals from the elephant ride industry?

No, elephant washing is not OK

It sounded like a nice alternative to elephant rides. Let’s go elephant washing! This activity, offered by many sanctuaries, is unfortunately not as innocent as it seems.

Many tourists claim that elephants enjoy this, but sadly this is actually incredibly stressful for them and this behaviour is learned, or better say, forced. And no, elephants do not laugh.

Remember, elephants are not domesticated animals like horses and dogs. They are wild animals that need to be trained to no longer be ‘dangerous’ but rather ‘safe’. They do that with the ritual ‘The Crush’. More on that later.

Apart from the fact that this human interaction never came about naturally, a group of humans touching them creates stress. They are often taken against their will to the river where they have to entertain people. And just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean there is no coercion involved. Really don’t assume that the elephant is there for fun and of its own accord. Even if it seems that way.

Besides, the washing itself is also incredibly unnatural for the elephant. It can really wash itself just fine by itself and besides, you can even damage its skin. After all, that thick skin provides protection from insects and irritants. Shampoo can damage this protection.

The ritual applies physical and emotional pressure to break the elephant’s will. These include tying up the elephant, administering electroshocks and beating it with sticks or knives. In many cases, this happens at a very young age and the elephant is separated from its mother. Sometimes the elephant gets no water and no food for days or weeks.

The video I shared here is just a fraction of the ritual. Other footage I found is too gruesome to share, I myself cried like a little child. It really is too sad for words that this is still happening – especially in 2023.

The psychological impact of this ritual is so great that elephants ‘behave’ the way their trainer wants them to, for fear of being beaten with the famous elephant hook.

Can you stand happily washing an elephant thinking that he has undergone this so that your elephant dream or once-in-a-lifetime-experience becomes a reality? I hope you do not.

After all, didn’t we want to visit elephants in the first place because we admire and love them?

Maintaining elephants is expensive

After my hours, or rather days, of research, I initially developed a huge aversion to the elephant industry and did not want to visit elephants at all. But then I realised that there is a downside to the whole story. Maintaining elephants is very expensive. An elephant eats about 136 kilograms of grass and fruit a day. That’s not to mention medicine or veterinary costs or anything else.

It was also realised that most elephants can never return to ‘the wild’. Even if that were possible, there is (unfortunately) little room for them.

So we decided that we do want to support a good organisation. There was only one hands-off sanctuary on our route, Somboon Legacy Foundation in Kanchanaburi.

Unfortunately, circumstances threw a spanner in the works, preventing us from getting there. We decided to donate the amount we would normally spend on this day trip to them anyway. The least we could do. There were plenty of other so-called sanctuaries on our route, but we definitely did not want to participate in this elephant tourism.

Hands-off, or seeing in the wild, those were our two options. Unfortunately, we did not see any elephants during our trip to Thailand. But rather a dream that didn’t come true, than have participated in sustaining an industry that I am far from okay with.

Elephants are not the only victims in Thailand

Unfortunately, animal suffering is still a big issue in Thailand and in many other parts of the world. As recently as 2016, for instance, 150 tigers were rescued from the famous tiger temple ‘Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno’ in Kanchanaburi. The monks were supposed to give these confiscated tigers a safe refuge. In reality, it was a profitable place where tourists could take photos with the tigers. The tigers were allegedly drugged, mistreated and bred illegally.

Some tips for your trip, in Thailand, as well as the rest of the world:

• Avoid photos with wild animals. Whether it is a monkey, snake or tiger, if they live in captivity, it is not okay. Wild animals are not tame, if they are then there are high chances of drugging or mistreatment taking place behind the scenes. No matter how cute that picture is, it’s not worth it.
• Do not visit places where wild animals perform tricks. Wild animals are not entertainers, again you are collaborating in the mistreatment of animals.

No demand, no supply. Want to spot these beautiful, wild animals? Then go to their natural habitat and stay at a distance. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.

Say no to wildlife entertainment

No demand, no supply, we can’t repeat it often enough.

Have you taken a ride on an elephant or interacted in some other way in the past? Then by all means don’t feel guilty, but don’t repeat it. Tell other people who want to go to Thailand how it really is and guard them from participating in keeping this industry alive.

We are no saints either. It was only after we saw a dolphin show at a zoo a few years ago and I got a very sour feeling, that I started looking into what goes on behind the scenes. A world opened up to me. I have always been an animal lover, but I unwittingly participated in this industry. Since then, I try to do as much research as possible on travel activities that involve animals. I and many other people are starting to realise that this is out of date. And actually, it is very sad that this once all seemed okay. Times are changing and thankfully so. It’s time we let wild animals, be wild animals.

I know this article is not going to make my blog a favourite. There are also people around me who disagree. But if this article convinces just one person to go to a hands-off sanctuary instead of washing elephants, my mission has succeeded.

This is not about whether or not to eat meat. This is about entertainment. Lives of wild animals being destroyed and having to undergo various traumas because we humans want to be entertained. Isn’t that crazy? Bizarre?