Dark Secrets About Thailand’s ‘Elephant Sanctuarys’

1. Torturous rituals aim to break the elephants' spirit

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Elephant training rituals are torturous and subject these magnificent animals to agonizing pain.  And in order to tame elephants, they are essentially 'broken' down so they will cooperate.  To do this, trainers use an array of horrifying methods, including restriction

where the animals are locked in a cage or bound with ropes so they can't move.

2. Elephants must be cooperative to avoid the agony

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Devastatingly, elephants are forced to comply and perform for their trainers and if they don't, they will certainly feel the wrath of the bull hook, nails, and even sticks that are often stabbed into their ears and bodies to get them to play ball.  And it's absolute agony for them...

3. Elephant rides crush their spines

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And if elephant riding was on your itinerary, it would be a good time to cross it off!  This is because, as big as they are, elephants are unable to support people on their backs.  And riding them causes irreversible damage to their spines.  What's more, a howdah

causes damage to the elephant's skin when they rub against it and cause blisters that become infected.

4. Elephants are overworked

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The popularity of Thailand's elephant sanctuaries amongst tourists looking for an 'eco-friendly' 

activity whilst away.  But they're not friendly in any way because the elephants, which are ALWAYS there to entertain tourists, don't ever get a rest and they're expected to work from morning to night.

5. Profits over welfare

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Now one secret these so-called 'sanctuaries' 

have tried to keep over the years is that the elephants' welfare comes after profits, including how they obtain the elephants, and how much they spend on their welfare.  But there are non-profit organizations that do exist in Thailand which would be a much better choice

6. Baby elephants are smuggled into the tourism industry

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Now a big money saver for some of these tourist attractions is how they actually get the elephant in the first place.  One source states that at least 20 to 30 baby elephants are captured and then smuggled into the Thailand tourist industry each year.  But other sources believe that this number is much much higher.

7. They are taken from their mothers when they're born

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A really heartbreaking fact about these cases is that the elephants are snatched as babies and taken far away from their mothers.  This is even before they've stopped drinking their milk!  And agonizingly, many of these baby elephants do die during this process.

8. Elephants follow a strict schedule

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Day to day, elephants that live and work in these sanctuaries have to follow a really strict schedule of painful rides, long and strenuous walks through the jungle, performing tricks, and bathing and interacting with tourists.  And they do this even if they don't want to because if they don't comply, the bullhook is in sight.

9. Tricks are only possible after long training

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Tourists watch in awe as these majestic creatures perform amazing tricks for them, day in, and day out.  And we know that elephants are extremely intelligent, but these tricks wouldn't be performed in the wild - they are taught by humans.  One trainer once said the these tricks are only ever possible when they have gone through long and rigorous training.  And we now know what they have to go through to complete this.

10. The training is called 'Elephant Crushing'

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Elephant training is incredibly torturous and aims to absolutely crush the spirits of these magnificent animals.  This is why this kind of training has adopted the name 'Elephant Crushing'.  

The whole purpose is to break the elephants into complying and to also make them really fear the horrible consequences of not behaving how they should.

11. Elephants are trained from a young age

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When the baby elephants arrive, they've already had a very traumatic experience: being snatched from their mother and their home and making a long and uncomfortable journey to where they are.  But this is no excuse because they're thrown into their training straight away.

12. They are crammed into tiny boxes

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This is called restriction

and can be done in a number of ways, including being crammed into a box, fenced in with wood or tightly bound with ropes around their limbs, bodies, and heads.  And it's done so they cannot move any part of their bodies...

13. They're starved

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Shocking images have too often emerged of these beautiful elephants with their bones protruding through their skin.  And the truth is, lots of captive elephants around the world are malnourished.  This is also a worry outlined by a zoologist who said that if people boycott elephant sanctuaries, would the elephants starve to death because their sanctuary hasn't got enough money from tourists to feed them?

14. Human interactions only occur when elephants are 'broken'

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Now, if you're online, you've probably seen that viral selfie the elephant took with the guy.  If you haven't, have a look above.  Cute, right?  But the sad truth is, one expert said that these kinds of interactions with humans would never ever happen unless the animal was truly broken

or crushed.

15. They're very secretive about training methods

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The training methods we've discussed are often kept a secret from the world.  Particularly because visiting an elephant sanctuary is often on the itinerary of tourists wishing for an 'Ecotourism'

experience.  And, for obvious reasons, knowing how the elephants are trained would put a lot of people right off!

16. Babies are taught to fear the bullhook

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In order to make the animals compliant, they teach them from babies through fear tactics, often using a bullhook.  And this bullhook tends to be with them into adulthood, to make sure their behavior continues in this way.  They obviously don't want to suffer a painful attack so they comply.

17. They see their 'Mahout' as their savior

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A Mahout 

is an elephant trainer.  But they don't use the torturous tactics their predecessors used.  In fact, they are brought in to take the elephant away after they've 'passed'

their training.  So naturally, the elephant sees them as their 'savior'.

  And their bond only grows from here.

18. Elephants working in the timber industry were banned, so sanctuaries opened

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One coincidence of the emergence of some of these elephant 'sanctuaries' is that they opened after legislation was put in place to stop the use of elephants in the timber industry.  When the ban was brought in in 1989, many elephants and their owners were out of a job so they looked to the tourist industry to find work again.

19. Regulation is light

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Elephant tourism in Thailand is extremely competitive and there are so many different companies that provide this kind of experience with elephants.  But amongst these different places, standards of care tend to vary a lot and there is a complete lack of clarity over how elephants should be treated.  And even though the use of elephants in the timber industry was banned, elephants are still classed as 'working animals' under Thailand's law.

20. They're extremely lucrative

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Due to successful advertising, and people's desire to tick this off their bucket list, Thailand's elephant sanctuary industry is extremely lucrative.  But some of these sanctuaries do actually put their profits back into the conservation of their sanctuaries, allowing elephants to build their own natural environments to thrive in.

21. Business is thriving

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Now with tourists becoming more 'in the know' about unethical vs ethical sanctuaries in Thailand, lots of people are beginning to feel more comfortable actually visiting them.  And it's important to look for those centuries that put their profits back into conservation and keep those going in order to give the elephants the best chance.

22. Many travel companies have banned this kind of tourism

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Now, because of the lack of clarity in Thailand's law surrounding elephant welfare, and the huge variants in how different sanctuaries care for these wonderful animals, some travel companies have decided to not include them in their packages until there is more transparency.

23. Boycotting the industry will do more harm than good

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One worrying question that comes to mind is: if we boycott certain elephant sanctuaries, what would actually happen to the animals there?  Would they be left to starve to death?  Expert zoologists have said that it is a really difficult situation and one that requires a lot of thought because we cannot abandon these beautiful creatures.

24. They go on jungle walks when they don't want to

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A ride on an elephant through the jungle sounds magical, right?  Well, that's not exactly how we would describe it.  You see, elephants are often forced to walk many miles each day with chains around their ankles and people on their backs, crushing their spines.

25. They're forced to bathe with tourists

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We often see elephants on television, spraying water at each other, having the time of their lives.  And, for some reason, humans want in.  But the thing is, bathing is something elephants want to do either on their own or as they socialize with other ELEPHANTS, not humans!  And many venues refuse to offer this experience because of this.

26. Their ears are injured by nails and sticks

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Some sources have said that they have seen, first-hand how elephants can be abused.  Particularly if they don't do as they're told.  And they are often injured by sharp sticks and nails, having them stabbed into their heads and ears.  Shocking photos once emerged online of wounds in an elephant's head.

27. They mislead tourists using names like 'Ecotourism' and 'Sanctuary'

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Now the words sanctuary 

and ecotourism

give us good vibes, don't they?  They connote wonderful things like safety, ethics, morals, care, and so on.  And these are the associations the unethical adverts for some sanctuaries want you to make so you feel good about yourself for booking an ethical trip that'll help the elephants.  But, in truth, they're selling a lie.

28. Elephants that 'retire' are 'lucky

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Not many elephants actually get to retire.  If they've survived their capture and journey to the venue, and then survived their training, quite often they will be expected to work until they die.  But those who can't work in their old age tend to be left in chains and shackles, mostly alone.

29. Elephants are in shackles

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To make sure elephants stay where they should, a lot of the time, they tend to be in chains and shackles.  This is when they're (rarely) sleeping at night, and often throughout the day whilst they entertain.  We're not sure chains

and shackles

say sanctuary!

30. Social media is part of the problem

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Social media isn't so innocent when it comes to the atrocities occurring at some of Thailand's elephant sanctuaries.  It has allowed people to see amazing selfies that elephants have apparently taken, and hear people gush over their experiences with these majestic creatures.  It has driven popularity and perhaps raised the pressure for some sanctuaries to work the elephants harder and train them quicker.