Written by student Jade Clayson, FdSc Conservation & Ecology
There are more
elephants in captivity in Thailand than there are in the wild in Thailand. Wild
numbers are difficult to confirm given their dense forested habitats. The
situation of Asia’s elephants is harrowing: the tourism trade. Elephants are
forced to give rides, perform tricks and face long working hours in the
strenuous Thai sun; many elephants die of exhaustion, stress and poor welfare.
The tourism trade is a booming trade fuelled quite highly by westerners and now increasingly by Chinese and Russian citizens. Many tourists are unaware of the
truth behind these close and intimate experiences with elephants. Elephants
have not been domesticated, they are wild animals and sitting in howdahs
(saddles) on their backs cannot be compared to that of sitting on a horse. Ever
since the Thailand logging ban in 1989, elephants and their owners were forced
to find work elsewhere (elephants are a source of income for hundreds of
families in Asia), this dramatic shift in law saw the start of street
begging elephants and the further development of using and exploiting elephants
for our ‘entertainment’.
Three years ago, I applied for a 6-month internship on Global
Vision International’s (GVI) elephant reintroduction programme in Thailand. Unaware
of any of these issues before I went. From this life changing experience,
endorsed in Karen hill-tribe culture, the ‘Thailand Elephants’ charity was born (www.thailandelephants.org). Gemma
was the base manager of this programme and now is a very good friend of mine,
she and I are the co-founders of this charity.
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| Student Jade Clayson (far right) in Thailand |
During my time on this internship we also made good friends
with Kerri McCrea, who last year started her own elephant project.Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary (KSES) opened
in May 2016 and has quickly gained a great reputation: winning Thailand Green
Excellence Award in the same year they opened. This summer I spent a month working
as a staff member at KSES: leading hikes into the forest to observe and take
data on the elephants, giving presentations, organising events, leading and
motivating volunteers and loads of amazing other things (the list is endless).
KSES are working very hard at the moment on their elephant research which, when
published will be extremely valuable and positive to improve the husbandry and welfare
standards of elephant in tourist camps throughout South East Asia.
‘Thailand Elephants’ charity focus on raising awareness and
educating members of the public about the exploitation of elephants in the
tourism industry. We also promote ethical elephant venues in Thailand, while we
were there this summer we were able to progress extensively with our research
and knowledge. My time away ignited and re-fired my passion and determination
for Thailand Elephants and our work, I never lost the passion but being back
out in Thailand was truly needed. Gemma met me out there and collectively we
visited many elephant venues to gather further research on our ethical list. We
now have made many links with organisations and people in the elephant world
that will help our charity gain reputation and grow so we can reach more and
more people, globally.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about elephants or our work. If you are keen on getting involved with our charity please email us through our website or contact us on Facebook. We have opportunities for you to be an advocate which would greatly help us spread the message and damn it would look good on your CV! Especially if you’re an aspiring conservationist, or even if you just love elephants/animals.
If you have been to Thailand or plan to go (or even know
anyone planning) please, please, please fill in our survey (and share) to help
us gather more research on traveller’s plans, even if you did not or plan not
to see elephants. The data is very valuable to us: CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY
I will be giving a talk at Cornwall College Newquay on
Thailand Elephants soon – watch this space, posters will go up when a date and
time is confirmed.
Facebook: @ThailandElephants
