Dave Tucker, from our supplier The Beyond Tourism Co.:
“Some of the resistance to change comes from the Thai people who feel we’re telling them their culture is wrong and their history is wrong – which, understandably, upsets them. But in Thailand, because the use of elephants has changed twice already – from war machines to logging to tourist rides – I think it can change again.”
Jo Cary-Elwes from Elephant Family:
“One of the things that urgently needs to change is our perception of Asian elephants. They’re often associated with captivity, and many people don’t realise that they’re an endangered species. There is a huge focus on Africa and the ivory trade, which there needs to be, but in many ways the Asian elephant is a lot worse off. It’s being hammered from all sides: massive habitat loss, poisonings, electrocution, poaching, demand from tourism - the list goes on.“
In April 2014, Burma also put an end to commercial logging – releasing a further 5,000 elephants from torturous labour*. This left them without work; some were set free, leaving them at the mercy of hunters. Others have been smuggled into Thailand, where wild elephants are protected, to work in the tourism industry. Burma has also gone on to develop unregulated elephant tourism of its own. This puts extra pressure on its fledgling tourist industry to reduce the demand for this type of tourism.
*Source:
Time.com