ELEPHANT RIDING BANNED AT ANGKOR WAT

Fourteen elephants that have been carrying tourists around Angkor Wat, Cambodia, for years are to be moved to a new home in the jungle, with riding no longer an option at the popular temple complex.

A spokesman for Aspara Authority, the government agency that oversees Cambodia’s most popular tourist attraction, made the announcement last week, saying “Using elephants for business is not appropriate anymore.” The private company that manages the elephants has been offering rides there since 2001.

The elephants — some of which are old, and in poor health — will be moved to a community forest about 40km away, where they will “live out their natural lives”, the spokesperson said.

The owners drew sharp criticism in 2016, when a female died of heart failure after giving a tourist a ride. The incident led to a petition posted on change.org, which said animal riding meant “a lifetime of misery for wild animals” and called for a ban on the practice of elephant riding at the site.

The Agence France-Presse quotes Aspara Authority as saying five of the creatures have already been moved to their new home, and the rest will follow early next year.

They won’t be going into full retirement though. The agency said tourists would still be allowed to see, but not ride, the elephants at their new location and that they would be trained to put on shows for visitors. Disappointing news to some, but a small victory in the global movement towards more responsible wildlife tourism.