Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Elephants: Covid and ethics reshape Thailand's tourism industry
The Thai elephant is the official national animal of Thailand. There used to be around 100,000 captive elephants but now there are only about three thousand captive elephants and one thousand in the wild. In Thai society, elephants used to play a substantial role in logging and war. When logging became illegal, they were trained to attract and entertain tourists, such as elephant riding, bathing, and shows. But animal rights groups argue that the use of elephants for tourism is unnatural, which has been turning some tourists away from elephant parks and sanctuaries. Then Covid-19 hit Thai’s tourism industry hard and long, which used to generate over 10% of the nation’s GDP and employed around 20% of Thais before the pandemic. It was a hard blow to the economy and employment of both people (mahouts, trainers, carers) and elephants. Elephants are costly animals to keep. An adult elephant eats 100 to 200 kilograms of food and drinks as much as 100 liters of water each day and there were and still are many unemployed elephants in the country. Many captive elephants used to earn their living through shows, performances, and walks. Will the tourism industry recover from the travel restrictions soon enough to feed those unemployed elephants? Will donations be enough to keep those elephants’ lives natural?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about the lives of elephants in Covid-hit Thailand.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63858123
Elephants: Covid and ethics reshape Thailand's tourism industry
The Thai elephant is the official national animal of Thailand. There used to be around 100,000 captive elephants but now there are only about three thousand captive elephants and one thousand in the wild. In Thai society, elephants used to play a substantial role in logging and war. When logging became illegal, they were trained to attract and entertain tourists, such as elephant riding, bathing, and shows. But animal rights groups argue that the use of elephants for tourism is unnatural, which has been turning some tourists away from elephant parks and sanctuaries. Then Covid-19 hit Thai’s tourism industry hard and long, which used to generate over 10% of the nation’s GDP and employed around 20% of Thais before the pandemic. It was a hard blow to the economy and employment of both people (mahouts, trainers, carers) and elephants. Elephants are costly animals to keep. An adult elephant eats 100 to 200 kilograms of food and drinks as much as 100 liters of water each day and there were and still are many unemployed elephants in the country. Many captive elephants used to earn their living through shows, performances, and walks. Will the tourism industry recover from the travel restrictions soon enough to feed those unemployed elephants? Will donations be enough to keep those elephants’ lives natural?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about the lives of elephants in Covid-hit Thailand.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63858123
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