Activity

“Behind the exotic facade of elephant tourism is a world of merciless beatings, broken spirits, and lifelong deprivation. Once revered, elephants in Thailand today are treated like slaves. Tourists flock to Thailand and snap pictures with cute baby elephants or take an elephant ride.”
“I had heard of the process of crushing the elephant’s spirit, known as ‘phajaan’. During this process, some elephant’s commit suicide by standing on their own trunks.”
“Whether stolen from the wild or born into captivity, elephants endure unimaginable abuse for the lucrative Thai tourism trade. Baby elephants have their minds, bodies, and spirits systematically “broken” through a barbaric process called phajaan. Still-nursing baby elephants are dragged from their mothers, kicking and screaming. They are immobilised, beaten mercilessly, and gouged with nails for days at a time. These ritualised “training” sessions leave the elephants badly injured and traumatised. Some don’t survive.”
How can people subject these animals to such misery? One factor is that many pseudo-sanctuaries exist which mislead tourists into thinking they can ride “rescued” elephants and buy pictures they have painted. In reality, these camps are profit-driven ventures operating under the guise of eco-tourism. The bottom line is that tourists’ money drives this cruel trade and at the expense of the elephants. http://www.artefactmagazine.com/2016/01/27/mistreatment-and-misconceptions-of-thailands-elephants/

Artefact – Mistreatment and misconceptions of Thailand’s elephants.'Behind the exotic facade of elephant tourism is a world of merciless beatings, broken spirits, and lifelong deprivation.'