The elephant, the largest land animal, is the national animal of Thailand. They were historically employed for war and logging purposes—however, their roles have transitioned to being primarily for entertainment. They play a huge role in Thailand’s tourism industry, attracting over a million tourists annually and generating over 500 million US Dollars (USD) each year before the pandemic. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, elephants are revered as symbols of loyalty, power, and wisdom, carrying numerous positive connotations. One of the most popular tourist activities is to engage with elephants, which includes watching shows, riding on their backs, or even having their photos taken while sitting on an elephant's head or trunk. They have around three-quarters of Asia’s elephants in the tourism industry. However, in 2015, it was estimated that 86% of the country’s captive elephants lived in inadequate conditions, which led to ethical concerns being raised.

Elephants in the wild live in a variety of habitats across tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia. They are highly social animals and enjoy the presence of their herd members—often taking care of other calves in the herd by protecting and assisting them. Elephants require vast land areas to thrive and satisfy their ecological needs. They can feed up to several hours and consume hundreds of pounds of plant matter in a single day. But this lifestyle of elephants completely changed the moment they were captured by humans to act as objects of our entertainment. They may be held captive in various facilities, such as zoos, circuses, or camps.

Young nursing elephants are captured in the wild and forcefully separated from their mothers at the age when they are the most dependent on them. This initial step causes traumatic psychological damage to both the mother and child. Instead of being able to roam and socialise freely as they naturally would, the young animal is restrained by chains on all four legs, often confined to small enclosures that do not allow for adequate movement or social interaction, and is kept in deplorable living conditions sometimes lacking in adequate food and water. Stripped of their freedom, these animals attempt to resist and flee from their handler, but their efforts are always unsuccessful causing more harm instead. Whenever they try to behave according to their instincts or escape, they are subjected to the use of a bullhook. This domestication process can take up to six months before the real training even starts.

In situations where an elephant is kept in captivity, it is common to find a bullhook being used. This tool, made of steel and equipped with a hook, is frequently employed by elephant handlers to instill pain and fear, asserting dominance over the poor animals to control them. The bullhook is often prodded into sensitive and thin skin areas—such as near its eyes and ears—or used as a weapon to strike and intimidate the animals.

Once the animals have lost their spirits and all hope of escaping, the training begins. Elephants are forced to learn behaviors that are far from their natural instincts, enduring physical abuse when they fail to meet their handler's standards. The mere sight of the bullhook is enough to incite deep fear in the elephants. Once the training is complete, the elephants are then confined in transporters to travel to show venues, enduring journeys that can last several hours and expose them to extreme temperatures. The elephants are then forced to repeat the cycle, performing endlessly until the day they are unable to continue on. 

This method of animal mistreatment is not limited to circuses—it can also be found in zoos and camps. For example, elephants are being subjected to physical and mental abuse such as forcing them to perform swimming shows and learn to paint using the negative reinforcement mentioned above. Numerous elephant riding camps allow visitors to sit and ride on their backs which is a harmful practice as their backs are not designed to carry heavy weights, potentially leading to permanent spinal damage.

Other than severe spinal injuries from carrying tourists on their backs, the lack of social interaction and freedom to roam as they would in the wild often leads to them exhibiting depressive behaviors such as swaying or head-bobbing which reflects their extreme stress and boredom. Captive elephants also have significantly shorter lifespans compared to their wild counterparts.

Over the years more and more people are aware of the mistreatment of elephants and have stopped supporting facilities that treat them in such a horrendous way. The Ringling Bros. Circus, an infamous elephant circus in the US, closed down in 2017 due to animal welfare concerns. Additionally, numerous US states have introduced a ban on bullhooks. Some captive elephant facilities (including those in Thailand) have changed their practices and shifted towards a more ethical approach to elephant tourism. This includes establishments like elephant sanctuaries, where elephants are given the freedom to roam around in a rainforest, and tourists can only view them from a distance without any physical interaction.

If we truly care about protecting elephants, we need to be selective about the places we visit. Let's choose elephant facilities that are committed to ending animal abuse. Instead of getting up close, let's appreciate these majestic creatures from a distance without engaging with them physically. We should also educate ourselves and those around us more on this issue—perhaps by sharing this article with your friends and family. For this World Elephant Day, let us all unite and work to ensure the welfare of elephants and other animals too!

To end the article, here’s a fun fact for you! Did you know elephants can ‘hear’ through their feet? This is because they communicate by creating vibrations in the ground. Don’t you just love these unique creatures?