Let’s stop abusing elephants

The awful death of a Chinese tour guide this week, crushed by a bull elephant at a popular attraction in Chon Buri, has something to tell us about the misuse of these animals and about the state of Thai tourism in general.
The tragedy in Chon Buri occurred as tourists took turns having their photos taken on the elephant’s back under the watch of its mahout. There was a noisy crowd around the beast and, despite the mahout’s admonishments, someone kept pulling the elephant’s tail. It grew steadily more agitated and then lunged into the crowd, killing the tour guide as he tried to intervene.
Obviously there were several factors at work here, and one that cannot be overlooked is the daily abuse domesticated elephants undergo at the hands of their mahouts in the name of discipline. All Thais have witnessed the prodding and jabbing administered to these creatures and we assuage our consciences with the false assurance that the animal’s skin is thick enough to absorb the pain. We ignore the sense of pity that rises with the sight of them forced to walk around hot city streets begging for food. 
In the midst of such cruelty, it seems pointless to blame the Chon Buri catastrophe on foolish pulls of a bull elephant’s tail. That great animal had clearly had enough abuse – but perhaps it was a matter of years, not a day. The incident did not go unnoticed by the animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), which cited it as another example of the dangers posed by keeping elephants confined and making them work for long hours.
It’s not as though further examples are needed. Only last month, Ekasit – the magnificent specimen that was prominently featured in the “Ong-Bak” action films – turned suddenly violent and killed its owner. That calamity happened in a relatively remote location, not at a tourist attraction, where many more lives are at risk should a supposedly tame animal abruptly answer its wild instincts. If nowhere else, we must re-examine the use of elephants at tourist sites.
Unfortunately, elephants are always a huge draw for urbanites on vacation, and in Thailand you can get right up close to them, feed them, pet them and ride them. The elephant camps where they dance and paint pictures and otherwise behave unnaturally for tourist amusement are a major part of the country’s tourism economy. Our reliance on them in this modern capacity is very much a matter of greed. But elephant shows are a menace to animals and spectators alike – and a risk to sustainable long-term tourism.
Thai tourism has enough shortcomings without the spectre of abused animals and needless tragedies. Our traffic jams enjoy global notoriety, our seashores are littered with trash and our coral reefs are dying. Both international airports in Bangkok are well beyond designated capacity, and planned upgrades – more terminals and runways to handle 130 million passengers a year – won’t begin before 2022. Until then, long queues at Immigration and epic traffic snarls will remain visitors’ first glimpses of Thailand.
Perhaps it’s the fate of every paradise to one day be lost. If current tourism practices aren’t improved, we’ll see the loss continue every day.