News Forum - 6 Elephants added to camp anticipating Chinese tourists

[Thaiger]

Chinese tourists are returning to Thailand, and with it, operators at elephant sanctuaries and shows are expecting a swell in customers. The Pang Chang Kamala Elephant Camp in Phuket has recently purchased six new elephants to keep up with the rise in bookings after the Lunar New Year. The camp offers a variety of activities …

The story 6 Elephants added to camp anticipating Chinese tourists as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Soidog]

I commented on this in a separate story yesterday. The Chinese and indeed many Thais are decades behind in their understanding of animal welfare and animal cruelty. It’s such as shame that these beautiful animals (the elephants, not the Chinese!) are held captive and made to perform for these backward minded people. 
 

What I don’t understand in this story is why they needed to add more elephants. The number of Chinese tourists won’t be getting back to pre-pandemic levels for maybe another year or two. So is this general business expansion or did they “remove” some of the elephants they previously held before the pandemic and now need to “restock”! 
 

It’s all down to education of course. Throw in a hefty level of corruption to turn a blind eye to any laws or standards and this is what you get.  

[Grumpish]

3 hours ago, Soidog said:

What I don’t understand in this story is why they needed to add more elephants. The number of Chinese tourists won’t be getting back to pre-pandemic levels for maybe another year or two. So is this general business expansion or did they “remove” some of the elephants they previously held before the pandemic and now need to “restock”!  

They probably sold them at the time, for use in Chinese medicine.

[bushav8r]

6 hours ago, Soidog said:

I commented on this in a separate story yesterday. The Chinese and indeed many Thais are decades behind in their understanding of animal welfare and animal cruelty. It’s such as shame that these beautiful animals (the elephants, not the Chinese!) are held captive and made to perform for these backward minded people. 
 

What I don’t understand in this story is why they needed to add more elephants. The number of Chinese tourists won’t be getting back to pre-pandemic levels for maybe another year or two. So is this general business expansion or did they “remove” some of the elephants they previously held before the pandemic and now need to “restock”! 
 

It’s all down to education of course. Throw in a hefty level of corruption to turn a blind eye to any laws or standards and this is what you get.  

Why has it become so politically incorrect to ride elephants?  No one seems to mind when people ride horses.  I think it is horrible if animals are mistreated. When elephants are tamed or bent to the will of their master it is called the crush.  Horses are broken.  Maybe I just answered my own question.  Carry on.

[Soidog]

55 minutes ago, bushav8r said:

Why has it become so politically incorrect to ride elephants?  No one seems to mind when people ride horses.  I think it is horrible if animals are mistreated. When elephants are tamed or bent to the will of their master it is called the crush.  Horses are broken.  Maybe I just answered my own question.  Carry on.

I think it’s more than that really mate. Horses are generally breed to be captive animals and seems less stressed when isolated. Elephants are generally wild animals taken at birth from their mothers. They are also more social animals and hence more stressed when away from the larger herd. 
 

That said, I think horse racing is a despicable sport in how older or injured horses are handled. 

[Alastair]

The horrendous cruelty inflicted upon an elephant to “break it” - that is to cause it such excruciating pain that it will do anything just so long as it is released from the pain, bears no relation to the process of breaking in a horse. Please do not compare the two. We are put on this planet, set above the animals, to ensure, as custodiers of these animals that they suffer as little as possible during their lifetime on this planet. What we permit elephants to go through just to give people ignorant of the process, a thrill, is a breach of a sacred trust. Please stop it.

[HiuMak]

On 1/22/2023 at 3:26 PM, Thaiger said:

Chinese tourists are returning to Thailand, and with it, operators at elephant sanctuaries and shows are expecting a swell in customers. The Pang Chang Kamala Elephant Camp in Phuket has recently purchased six new elephants to keep up with the rise in bookings after the Lunar New Year. The camp offers a variety of activities …

The story 6 Elephants added to camp anticipating Chinese tourists as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

To be safe, these elephants should put on some masks.

[thingamabob]

This cruel activity should have been banned a long time ago.

[Pinetree]

1 hour ago, thingamabob said:

This cruel activity should have been banned a long time ago.

Part of the answer is that so called Buddhists in this country only pay lip service to the teachings of that religion.  The sanctity of, and respect for, all living things is central to that religion. I am totally none religious,  so I'm not the hypocrite that so many are here,   but I value and respect all animals, so should they.  

[Soidog]

15 hours ago, Alastair said:

The horrendous cruelty inflicted upon an elephant to “break it” - that is to cause it such excruciating pain that it will do anything just so long as it is released from the pain, bears no relation to the process of breaking in a horse. Please do not compare the two. We are put on this planet, set above the animals, to ensure, as custodiers of these animals that they suffer as little as possible during their lifetime on this planet. What we permit elephants to go through just to give people ignorant of the process, a thrill, is a breach of a sacred trust. Please stop it.

Wish I could give you for that. 
 

As Ghandi said - The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. 
 

This perfectly demonstrates why Thailand can not be consider either  great or moral.