Shame: We cannot even protect the national symbol

The recent news about a burned elephant carcass found at Kaeng Krachan National Park in Petchaburi province was headline news because some parts of the elephant were dismembered in a gruesome manner that has never been seen before. Damrong Pidech, director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said the way the elephant was dismembered indicates a new form of violence that could threaten the wellbeing of other wild elephants. 

There are an increasing number of foreign tour groups that come to Thailand to eat exotic food, especially elephant meat and organs. These ill-informed tourists believe that an elephant’s sexual organs can stimulate their sex drive. Sadly, many elephants are abused and killed because of the selfishness of local people and the stupid beliefs of certain tourists. 

It is saddening and unfortunate that an increasing number of wild elephants are caught, abused and killed in spite of efforts to suppress this illegal trade. 

Elephants have always played an integral part in Thai culture. They are sacred animals, and they were also used in wars in the old days. They are used to transport people. They are used to help promote tourism.

However, the living conditions of many captive elephants are far from dignified. Wild elephants are still illegally caught and trained, and many are forced to roam the cities to beg for food and money. Some are brutally abused. They are forced to overwork and they are overdosed with drugs to increase their stamina.

Not surprisingly, the number of elephants in Thailand has sharply decreased over the past few years. The number of wild elephants now is estimated at only 2,000 to 3,000.

The decrease in the number of elephants is due to various factors. First of all, Thailand’s forest coverage is continually shrinking. Many wild elephants are therefore forced to migrate to find food, and farmers do not like having wild elephants on their land because the elephants destroy and eat their crops. Traditional logging activity has also decreased along with the disappearing forest, and this has meant less work for captive elephants in the forestry trade.

In addition, the current laws provide loopholes to enable the illegal trade in elephants. For instance, the law that covers the trading of domesticated elephants has created loopholes by which elephant smugglers fabricate documents to make wild-caught elephants appear as captive-bred animals. The number of domesticated elephants is estimated to surpass the number of wild elephants by only 1,000 or so. The discrepancy in the numbers suggests that many wild elephants have been caught and falsely registered as domesticated.

Southeast Asian elephants are in demand because they can serve various purposes. They can be trained to perform in entertainment and tourism venues and circuses. Their tusks are used as decorative items, and this of course has resulted in poaching for ivory. In addition, the burned carcass in Petchaburi shows that some ignorant people believe that certain parts of an elephant are an aphrodisiac. 

The lax enforcement of the laws also enables some traders to illegally smuggle elephants from local forests to other countries. As a result, young elephants are often separated from their mothers before they are old enough to be registered. Poachers often kill a mother to get the calf, and the young elephants are then brutally abused in order to instil obedience. 

This is all the more sad when we consider the “human” qualities ascribed to elephants. They need forests to live in and parents to teach them to survive. 

If this situation is not improved, elephants may soon become extinct. If that happens, we should be ashamed that we have failed to protect the animal that is our national symbol. And will we have the courage to tell our children about why the elephant became extinct – that the tragic demise of this magnificent and proud animal was caused by our utter selfishness and stupidity?