Elephants facing dangerous neglect
It’s hard to imagine the new coronavirus would also take a toll on a thousand Thailand elephants, now in danger of starvation as tourists have stopped coming to the elephant trekking camps.
With no more income due to the Covid-19 situation, dozens of elephant trekking camps have reportedly been forced to close their doors, resulting in unspeakable hardship for the jumbos. And this could seriously hurt the country’s tourism industry in the future if no support is forthcoming soon.
This is the opinion of Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, owner of Elephant Nature Park and founder of the Save Elephant Foundation, who believes many of the closures will be permanent. “I have been to visit many of the camps, and the situation is very serious,” she says.
According to her, the elephants have been chained up since tourists stopped coming. They are very stressed and upset. Some have started to attack each other from being chained up all day and several have bite wounds from fighting over food. The pregnant elephants are also stressed and not doing well.
She points out that without support to keep the beasts safe, they might either starve to death or be put on the streets to beg, sold to zoos or returned to the illegal logging business. At Elephant Nature Park, which houses more than 3,000 animals, many disabled or emotionally unstable, a frantic fundraising effort is under way for food and medical needs. Some of the elephants need intensive, regular veterinary care.
One hundred percent of each donation is tax-deductible and goes directly to Elephant Nature Park. These donations will be shared with elephants in other camps as appropriate.
To make donations, visit jointrunksup.org. Trunks Up is a certified supporting organisation currently matching all donations, dollar for dollar, up to US$45,000 (1.5 million baht).
Visit elephantnaturepark.org.