Much more welfare needed for domesticated elephants: experts

Unlike wild elephants, domesticated elephants have helped build Thailand’s economy by hauling logs since the Rattanakosin era.

The turning point in that role came when more than 50,000 logs swept by floods and landslides hit a community in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Phipun district in 1988, killing 90 residents and injuring more than 200 others. Former Agriculture Minister Sanan Kachornprasart ordered the suspension of forest concessions in response to the incident.

This order effectively put domesticated elephants and their mahouts out of work. Some of them found jobs as an attraction for Thai and foreign tourists at elephant parks. Others continued to work for illegal logging businesses or turned to begging.

History repeated itself during the Covid-19 pandemic, which decimated the tourism industry. As elephant parks closed, many mahouts took their elephants back to their hometowns. Others tried to cope by launching elephant shows online.

Even though many tourists have enjoyed interacting with elephants, today many believe that the mahouts’ use of hooks and chains violates the animals’ wellbeing.

“The saying ‘elephants and humans take care of each other’ is real in Thai society because domesticated elephants will not become beggars if they have jobs,” said Taweepoke Angkawanish, chief vet and head of the division of elephant conservation at Thai Elephant Conservation Centre.

Elephants could stimulate or impact tourism

Even though elephant training is rarely seen by the public, most people believe that elephants must be trained before serving the tourism sector.

Saengduean Chailert, founder and chairwoman of the Save Elephant Foundation pointed out that mahouts often separate baby elephants from their mothers when they are very young.

Insufficient breastfeeding could cause baby elephants to be at risk of physical and mental health, especially elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus infection. which kills eight to nine baby elephants annually, she said.

Animal welfare and revenue generation

Saengduean urged the government to be aware that violence against elephants or other animals in the tourism industry could affect the country's image.

“Some tourists would enjoy interacting with elephants, but those who are aware of animal welfare would be unhappy and claim that Thailand does not pay attention to ensuring the welfare of its animals,” adding that this is a sensitive matter in other countries.

She also advised mahouts to set up working hours, provide sufficient food, offer medical treatment when their charges get sick and ensure that they do not live in fear.

“For instance, tourists may spend only an hour taking a bath with elephants, but pachyderms often do this all day. So mahouts should observe if the activity affects elephants’ physical and mental health,” she said.

A line between violence and goodwill

Training can be seen as violence or goodwill towards domesticated elephants depending on mahouts’ actions, Taweepoke said.

“Elephants could cause damage to lives and properties if mahouts cannot keep them under control. However, training can also reflect animal cruelty if mahouts use hooks and chains improperly,” he said.

Taweepoke confirmed that Thai mahouts are using equipment on elephants discreetly and mindfully to prevent negative impacts on Thai tourism.

“The hook is used when elephants refuse to obey,” he explained. “That’s a bit like police officers carrying guns to tackle crimes, but they do not use those guns all the time.”

He further explained that mahouts use chains based on elephant size and the time of day to ensure that it will not disturb their wellbeing, such as sleeping or moving. Mahouts prefer using rope on baby elephants during the day and switch to chains at night, he said.

Learning course for mahouts

Thai Elephant Conservation Centre is cooperating with relevant agencies on setting up a standard for domesticated elephant training and providing knowledge on how to train the large mammals properly.

There are four courses providing technical expertise for elephant care, covering how to observe the beasts’ behaviour, provide treatment and use them in tourism activities.

"If we want to preserve elephants, we must start from mahouts," he said.