Horrific footage has exposed how baby elephants are being ‘broken’ at cruel training camps before they are set to work in the tourist industry in Thailand. Staff recorded the calves being abused before they were taught to paint, spin hoops, carry passengers and stand on their hind legs for the entertainment of holidaymakers. Animal […]
Scrubbing behind the ears of a docile Asian elephant at a sanctuary outside of Kandy, Sri Lanka, I should have realised this wasn’t normal behaviour for a wild animal to allow me so close. At the time, back in 2009 and thousands of miles from home, it seemed harmless. I was also told the experience […]
Thailand has a total population of 5,000 elephants. But of that number, 3,000 live in captivity, carrying tourists on their backs and offering photo opportunities made for social media. With the corona crisis, tourism revenues have plummeted, and those who make a living from elephants’ tourism appeal are struggling even to cover their costs. A […]
There are a lot more people who know about the cruelty and neglect that animals suffer in zoos and circuses. It is becoming more wildly understood that animals are not meant to live in captivity. However, there are still many people who pay money to exploit animals for a selfie or a few minutes of […]
Shocking pictures have emerged showing a baby elephant unable to move with its legs chained to a pole. Brit traveller Ross Martin said he first came across the isolated calf in a makeshift shack in Phuket two years ago. He claims the elephant, named Meena, was being forced to beg tourists for money and tied […]
Animal rights activists are up in arms after a five-start resort in Thailand used a baby elephant as a party “prop.” The photo has been removed from the Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach hotel in Phuket. In the photo, the elephant is by the side of the pool surrounded by guests including children. The resort’s TripAdvisor […]
Elephants are the center of life in Ban Ta Klang, a town in eastern Thailand. They’re all over the village, in yards and attached to trees. Locals there are a main part of the domestic elephant industry in Thailand, an industry with a hidden history of elephant abuse. For many years this part of Thailand […]
More than half of the 147 tigers confiscated from a Thai temple have died, park officials have said, blaming genetic problems linked to inbreeding at the once money-spinning tourist attraction. For years, the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi attracted hordes of tourists who could be photographed – for […]