Sunday Times 2
Elephant rides face oblivion from European call to action on cruelty
Elephant rides in Sri Lanka face the ignominy of being goaded into extinction as a result of a global campaign to end this cruel sideshow of the tourism industry.
A major shift in the thinking about elephant entertainment has been gaining momentum and drawn public in attention in Europe, especially London
A campaign called ‘Wildlife – Not Entertainers’ by London-based conservation group World Animal Protection, has so far gained the support of 82 global travel companies (groups and individual agents) which have stopped selling elephant rides and shows to tourists.
TUI Nederland, TUI Travel Belgium, Intrepid Travel, The Travel Corporation, Apollo, Albatros Travel and World Expeditions, Contiki, Islands in the Sun, Qantas Holidays, Qantas Vacations, United Travel, Viva! Holiday, and Go Holidays, are among those who have signed up.
Leading group Thomas Cook, which began a joint venture with China’s Fosun International in June, is also being prodded to come on board. Fosun, which also owns Club Med, holds a five per cent interest in the British group.
A major shift in the thinking about elephant entertainment has been gaining momentum and drawn public in attention in Europe, especially London. This will spell the end of the road for Sri Lanka’s mahouts who make a meagre living from foreign and domestic visitors who enjoy elephant rides. Many mahouts can barely afford to feed the 5,000 kilogram vegetarians, or even afford veterinary care.
Revered and abused in equal measure, Sri Lanka’s favourite captive colossus has for centuries laboured without complaint and suffered indignities – from being shot for sport by the British and being exported by the greedy Dutch and the Portuguese. They are symbols of wealth, political pawns, and traded by criminals who capture them illegally from national parks.
In Sri Lanka, elephant rides are not regulated, but guidelines have been drawn up by tourism authorities who have taken into account animal welfare concerns. The guidelines have yet to be gazetted, Sri Lanka Tourism sources said.
World Animal Protection said from London that fieldwork by its elephant expert in Asia has found 11 tourist venues in Sri Lanka as of end last year. Rides are offered at eight of those venues. Most sites are small, and one has already closed down, the group says.
Of the 150 elephants observed on location, 29 were used for rides. The level of animal welfare varied and was worst at sites where riding was on offer, the group says.World Animal Protection Wildlife Campaign head, Alicia Craw, says the group is working with the global travel industry to end cruel elephant rides and shows, but also to ensure that tourists can enjoy seeing elephants in the wild.
She says elephants are forced to entertain, noting that calves are taken from their mothers and “beaten, starved and isolated” to break their spirit. The broken animals are then trained to perform tricks. “Some will display symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and bear physical scars after many years of cruelty and abuse,” she says.
The group is engaging with the travel industry to encourage venues where elephants are given the best welfare and do not allow direct tourist contact with elephants. At such venues the animals will be cared for according to international animal husbandry standards and will not be chained.
True sanctuaries are the next best thing, World Animal Protection says. Similarly, the group works to provide alternative employment options to those in the trade. The goal is to stop the demand for wild animals in entertainment and end the reliance on wildlife entertainment as a way to make a living, World Animal Protection says.
The group estimates 3,000 elephants in Asia and Africa are suffering at cruel tourist attractions.