Packham 1

Thomas Packham

Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010, Section 4

12 April 2019

An Elephant Never Forgets -- Report on Thailand’s Elephant Abuse

An elephant never forgets. Elephants are one of the world’s most intelligent creatures,

and although they are one of the most loved and well-known creatures, there is still much to

learn about their behavior and cognitive abilities. With the largest brain out of any terrestrial

species, elephants have the capability to complete complex tasks, including the ability to use

tools and respond to commands. Elephants even have enough intelligence to recognize their own

reflection in a mirror (Irie et al. 178). Along with intelligence, elephants have an extremely

effective memory, and are capable of recognizing up to thirty members of their herd using sight

or smell. Elephants not only remember fellow herd members, but have the ability to recognize

other creatures, of any species, that made an impact on their life. Elephants are highly emotional

creatures, and even mourn their dead. This enhanced memory and intelligence is what makes

elephants one of the only non-human animals that suffers from post traumatic stress disorder

(Gendler).

Unfortunately, despite their consciousness, docility, and strong emotions, elephants are

one of the world’s most mistreated and abused creatures. The problem is most prevalent in the

South-East Asian country of Thailand, where tourism is on the rise. Within Thailand, there are

over 5,000 Asian Elephants, 4,000 of which are domesticated and used for tourists (Brown). ​The

elephant is Thailand’s national symbol, and has been revered throughout history for its strength
 Packham 2

and intelligence; although it is considered sacred by the people, the treatment of the elephant

does not reflect this attitude of reverence. ​The tourism industry in Thailand is fueling the extreme

cruelty and abuse of elephants throughout the country, and change must occur soon.

The three largest threats to Asian Elephants in Thailand are poaching, habitat destruction,

and human-elephant conflict claim Van de Water and Matteson. Human-elephant conflict is one

of the most prominent and devastating of these threats (2). According to an interview with Dani

Lassiter, an American woman living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, some of the country’s elephants

are extremely mistreated by humans. After traveling to more than six different elephant parks

throughout the country, she was able to see many different ways that elephants are being abused.

Lassiter mentioned that one common thing she noticed was the small size of their living spaces.

Many elephants were tied or chained up to a fence, standing on a slab of concrete, with less than

five feet of wiggle room, which is an awful condition for the large animal that is so accustomed

to roaming. Lassiter spoke about the different types of elephant parks in Thailand, how today

most of them treat elephants well, but some still abuse and mistreat their elephants. She told

about one specific elephant park in particular that stood out to her. This park caters towards

Chinese tourists and claims to be ethical, but puts on elephant shows where the elephants paint,

dance, give rides, and perform for audiences. In order for these elephants to learn these complex

and unnatural tasks, they must go through what is called: ‘the crush’.

According to Gemma Annan, “'The Crush' means "to divorce the baby elephant from its

spirit" or to ''split the will" of a baby elephant.” The Crush involves tying up a baby elephant in a

small cage, with no room for any movement, for days on end. Bullhooks, nails, and sticks are

used to continually prod or stab the elephants until they are willing to respond to any command
 Packham 3

given by their handlers (see infographic). An elephant never forgets this experience, and never

forgets the humans that did it. This torture will be something that will remain in the elephant’s

memory forever; therefore leaving a permanent change in the elephant’s personality. The process

of domesticating an elephant is unethical, horrific, and quite unnecessary. In elephant

sanctuaries, where elephants are treated with love and respect, positive reinforcement and food is

used to train the creatures into following simple and natural commands, similar to training a dog.

When it comes to elephant parks

where there are activities such as

tricks, painting, riding, or dancing,

there is nearly always some sort of

‘crushing of the spirit’ involved.

Before considering riding an

elephant or going to an elephant

show, remember what the animals

most likely had to go through in

order to heed those commands.

Daniel Turner, Associate Director for

Tourism at Born Free said, "Riding

an elephant still features on many

people's bucket list when visiting

Asia and, more recently, Africa.

While some may consider riding on

 Packham 4

top of the largest land mammal to be a cultural experience that holds an air of romance, few

recognise that this practice actually significantly compromises the welfare of these magnificent

animals and potentially places people at risk”(qtd. in Marshall). The fact that these elephants are

extremely emotional makes this such an unethical practice. When looking at an abused elephant,

pain and fear can be seen in its eyes, even tears. Elephants are commonly seen with actual tears

in their eyes, and can weep in emotional circumstances (Bekoff). The mistreatment must stop.

Fortunately not all of the elephant parks in Thailand practice unethical behavior. Over ten years

ago 90% of the parks provided elephant riding, but today the statistic has reversed and now 90%

are anti-elephant riding (Lassiter). This dramatic change is due to the American and European

tourist population becoming more educated on the topic.

The elephant parks throughout the Thailand are completely dependent upon, and fueled

by tourism, just like the rest of the economy of the nation. According to the interview with

Lassiter, “​The elephant industry is completely tourist and financially driven. Tourists who are

educated help promote the sanctuaries that are ethical and care about elephants, while tourists

who are uneducated promote the parks that mistreat elephants.” It really all comes down to who

is bringing in the money. If people want to see elephants dance, they are going to see elephants

dance. If people want to see elephants treated well and taken care of, they are going to see just

that. Tourism is a huge business in Thailand. In 2014 there were over 5.3 million jobs within the

tourism industry alone. Tourism has contributed to 9-18 percent of Thailand’s national GDP of

12 trillion Baht, according to Kelly Iverson from the Culture Trip. The most popular types of

tourism in Thailand include: cultural tourism, medical tourism, gastronomic tourism, elephant

tourism, Muay Thai tourism, and sex tourism (Iverson). Each of these forms of tourism bring
 Packham 5

their own respective percentage of the country’s revenue, but elephant tourism is definitely one

of the most prominent. Not only do the elephants benefit the tourism industry, but the tourism

industry benefits the elephants. Elephants in Thailand are no longer capable of living in the wild

in large numbers due to development throughout the country; they now depend on ethical

sanctuaries to care for them and keep the population alive. The idea of a responsible elephant

sanctuary where the tourists can feed and care for the elephants is the ideal scenario (Lunt).

Elephants are expensive, and without a strong tourist base, the country would have no way to

care for all the domesticated elephants (Lassiter). With a responsible and ethical elephant

sanctuary, both the tourists and elephants can get what they want, that is, if the tourists want to

see elephants living healthily rather than activities that require abuse.

The only thing one can do to help combat the issue is to spread awareness. It is essential

educate not only Americans and Europeans, but the entire world. We need to especially target

those who are most likely to support the unethical elephant parks or camps, which happens to be

mostly Chinese and Russian tourists. “If there is little demand for performing or trekking

elephants, then the need for such savage training techniques will hopefully decrease. BUT for

this to happen the main target audiences attending low quality camps need to be educated.”

stated Gemma Annan from Thailand Elephants. Fortunately, Thailand is already seeing a

positive change in the elephant industry. More and more elephant parks are becoming

sanctuaries, where elephants can be fed, played with, and loved. The future for elephants is

bright, that is, if tourists continue advocating for fair treatment for elephants and consistently

supporting elephant sanctuaries. Never forget the cruel captivity that many of these elephants
 Packham 6

have to experience and the importance of being a responsible tourist. An elephant never forgets,

and neither should we.

Works Cited

Annan, Gemma. “The Ugly.” ​Thailand Elephants,​ www.thailandelephants.org/the-ugly.

Bekoff, Marc. “Do Elephants Weep as an Emotional Response? (Op-Ed).” ​LiveScience​, 27 Sept.

2013, www.livescience.com/40029-do-elephants-weep-as-an-emotional-response.html.

Brown, Vicki. “Responsible Tourism in Thailand.” ​responsibletravel.com,​ Responsible Travel,

www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/thailand/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-thailan

d.

Gendler, Alex. ​TED​, Nov. 2014,

www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_why_elephants_never_forget?language=en.

Irie, Naoko, and Toshikazu Hasegawa. “Elephant Psychology: What We Know and What We

Would like to Know.” ​Japanese Psychological Research​, vol. 51, no. 3, Sept. 2009, pp.

177–181. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1111/j.1468-5884.2009.00404.x.

Iverson, Kelly. “Animal Tourism In Thailand: The Truth Behind The Abuse.” ​Culture Trip​, 9

Nov. 2016, theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/animaltourism-in-thailand-the-truth

-behind-the-abuse/.

Lassiter, Dani. Telephone Interview. 8, April 2019.

Lunt, Steve. ​YouTube,​ CGTN, 22 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qNqgjedRY.

Marshall, Claire. “Elephant Tourism Is 'Fuelling Cruelty'.” ​BBC News,​ BBC, 6 July 2017,

www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40501667.
 Packham 7

Van de Water, Antoinette, and Kevin Matteson. “Human-Elephant Conflict in Western Thailand:

Socio-Economic Drivers and Potential Mitigation Strategies.” ​PLoS ONE,​ vol. 13, no. 5,

June 2018, pp. 1–14. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0194736.