[Series] The Cost of Wildlife Tourism - Asian Elephants
The Asian elephant (elephas maximus) also called the Asiatic elephant, is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They also feature on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list of endangered species. The Asian elephant population has declined by over 50 per cent over the past 75 years. The majority of elephants have sadly been taken from the wild and it is estimated that only 20,000 – 40,000 remain in their natural habitat.
According to World Animal Protection, which assessed almost 3,000 elephants living in 220 venues across ASEAN, the scale of suffering experienced by elephants was described as “severe”. Similarly, they found at least 77% of captive elephants were chained up throughout the day and night when not being exploited for entertainment purposes and experienced very little to no social interaction with other elephants. The elephants were fed poor nutritional diets, had extremely limited access to proper veterinary care and were constantly harassed by not only their keepers, but the loud music and the heavy flow of tourists on a daily basis.
In the wild, Asian elephants typically live in small herds of related females, their female offspring and immature males. Asian elephants are extremely social and form complex relationships, working together to raise their young and to protect the group. But in captivity, these elephants are at the mercy of their human trainers and consequently, have much shorter lives, more physical and medical problems as well as exhibit serious behavioural issues.
All captive elephants are tamed for domestication by what is known as “Phajaan” or “training crush”, which involves placing a young elephant calf in a strong steel cage, tied with ropes to restrict movement, married with negative reinforcement in the form of corporal punishment by bullhooks and bamboo sticks spiked with nails. They are starved and deprived of sleep in order to crush the elephant’s spirit into submission and into obeying human commands to avoid pain.
Elephant tourism rears its ugly head in many different ways, including elephant trekking as a popular and sought-after holiday experience. Tourists are sat upon the world’s largest land-based mammals as they are forced to trek along a path through a jungle while their trainers’ control and steer them via forcible pressure applied behind their ears by a bullhook. At the conclusion of the trip, tourists are able to pay top dollar for photos on top of and with the elephant. Despite the mammoth size of these animals, research has shown that elephants’ spines cannot physically support the weight of people and doing so on a daily basis can lead to permanent spinal injuries and deformities. Instead of smooth, round spinal disks, elephants have sharp bony protrusions that extend upwards from their spine. These protrusions and the tissue protecting them are vulnerable to weight and pressure exerted from above. Further medical complications from having a chair attached to their backs include large lesions that become infected, and the wear and tear on the elephant’s feet after long-term trekking can cause foot infection and injuries.
Thankfully, there are a small but growing number of organisations and venues where elephants are kept in more humane conditions. These are often called “sanctuaries” or “rescue centres”. Many of these sanctuaries have been set up to rescue elephants from wildlife tourism and trade. In order to secure their freedom, the rescue centres pay no less than HKD$500,000 per elephant. The price tag varies from elephant to elephant, with factors such as the elephant’s age, health and tame-ability taken into account. For those making a living from elephant tourism, the loss of an elephant is a considerable part of their livelihood, and as a result are able to command an extraordinarily high price tag in order to secure their freedom.
At these ethical elephant sanctuaries, there is no use of tools or physical controls, and elephants have been taught positive behaviour without the use of force. This is because in higher welfare venues, tourists are not in direct contact with the animals. Rather, they are ushered carefully on small trainer-led groups, to watch elephants in their natural environment. Tourists are able to quietly approach elephants from a safe distance and watch them live naturally under the watchful eye of their caregivers.
An elephant can only be truly free in the wild. However, as there are so many captive elephants in and around Asia forced to work in not only the callous wildlife tourism industry but also logging and other physical laborious tasks, creating awareness of and supporting these elephant-friendly sanctuaries will hopefully mean more elephants are able to live their lives free from torture.
