Symbols of Despair

An animal which brings joy and calmness to even the most anxious and angry mind. An animal when walking in herds through dense and lush green forests gives a very zen energy to the viewers and waves out all modern day worries. It gives our eyes a time to be away from the rat race and appreciate the movements of that animal in the lap of mother nature. The animal we are talking about stands as a symbol of strength and power. Yes, it’s none other than the largest terrestrial animal – the Elephant.

But sadly even these mighty animals have fallen prey to the vicious hands of humans who are exploiting everything that comes in their way and morosely elephants are no exception to it.

In 2018, wildlife tourism directly contributed $120.1 billion to global GDP, versus the $23 billion in revenue attributed to the illegal trade in wildlife, or 5.2 times more, according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). In Thailand alone, the estimates of tourism revenue directly contributing to the GDP of 12 trillion baht range from 1 trillion baht (2013), 2.53 trillion baht (2016), the equivalent of 9% to 17.7% of GDP.

This shows that elephant tourism is a massive source of income for the country. Not only this but the government also provides subsidies to Mahouts (Mahouts are those who “take care” of elephants there). Government actively funds such places and people for income. Most people in the town are Mahouts.

Thailand recklessly abuses animals to attract tourists. And as much as them the tourists are also guilty as its their money that emboldens such abuses to continue for our entertainment. After the logging ban in 1989, elephants have been used primarily for tourism. Beginning in the north, elephant camps have increased in number throughout the country. Therefore, the use of captive elephants in tourism has been ongoing for almost five decades. Nowadays, Thailand is the epicentre of elephant tourism.

When we go to a circus or to an elephant show, what we see is the elephants performing various tricks like painting, throwing balls through a hoop, walking on its back legs, etc. But majority of us are not aware of what goes on behind the scenes? We are always convinced that what their trainers are doing for them might be the best as they are “the professionals” but have we ever understood how the elephants felt? Have you ever asked yourself how come a wild animal is so puppy tame? For an elephant to be docile enough to touch him safely, elephants are cruelly trained, punished and feared. They are wild animals and not our servants.

Young calves are separated from their mothers at the age of two to be trained and sacrificed for our entertainment. Elephants are seen continuously swaying back and forth, a symptom of psychological distress, as a result of being unable to interact with each other. They are then forcefully trained using fear and punishments. During the course of their training many a times they are kept off food when they do not perform well. Metal hooks are jabbed behind their ears multiple times during a day to make them perform certain tricks with and for the tourists. Mahouts or the people who “take care” of the elephants jab small and sharp metal hooks on the elephants body to make them perform tricks. This causes open wounds on the elephants which are left untreated thus posing a threat of an infection. Elephants are beaten into submission and controlled through domination and fear and all this is done for the lucrative Thai tourism which works for our entertainment.

Today, the prime reason for the spread of Thailand’s Wildlife Tourism Industry is social media. People visit such places and post pictures and videos on the internet which encourages the others to experience the so called ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to get a selfie clicked while elephants are picking them up. Even in the photos you only see people picked up by two elephants with a mahout standing behind them but what you don’t observe is a sharp metal hook attached to an iron rod jabbed by the mahout on the back of the elephants ears to keep it under control. Animals at these places are used just as props and nothing more than that.

While they are not performing, it is assumed that they are spending their time in open areas but unfortunately that’s not even close to the reality. They spend most of their time in small concrete places where they are tied with spiked chains on their ankle and the other end to a thick wooden pole. The chains do not allow them to move anymore than 1 to 2 feet away from the wooden pole. Elephants are highly intelligent and social animals. In the wild they spend most of their time with their herds playing in the mud, foraging and swimming. They travel upto 50 km every day but in zoos, circuses and shows they are deprived of all what is highly integral to them. Imagine how they spend more than 70 years of their life in these depressing conditions. They are chained to a life of vexation and misery.

Today the Asian Elephant is an endangered species according to IUCN. Over the past years its population has declined by an estimate 50 percent and currently there are only 20000 to 40000 individuals only left in the wild. All of the major threats to the Asian Elephants are induced by human beings which include illegal killing for illegal ivory trade, habitat loss and loss of genetic viability. A population cannot evolve in response to changing environmental variables and as a result may face an increased risk of extinction.

There is an urgent need for tourist education and regulation of wildlife tourist attractions worldwide. Venues that offer tourists a chance to watch elephants in genuine sanctuaries are beacons of hope that can encourage the urgently needed shift in the captive elephant tourism industry. People should also take up the responsibility of researching about places like these before visiting them and also shouldn’t be merely influenced by others social media posts. We live in a world where we have access to every bit of knowledge from anywhere in the world but it depends on us, how and what we want to consume.

Tourists need to be fully aware of the places they are visiting especially if its related to animals as many tourists visit such places because they love animals and they want to interact with them. But its rightly said that love is blind therefore we need to be aware and well informed about what is happening in our surroundings.

We need to stop going to such places and encourage places which treat animals ethically. Its time that we use the weapon of social media to educate people and spread awareness. We have a tremendous power to bring a change and make a difference for the wildlife and remember that every step towards conservation, preservation and education of wildlife counts.