CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS

ELEPHANTS IN ASIAN CULTURE & SOCIETY The treatment and use of captive elephants in the tourism industry in Asia is a pressing ethical concern for us. There are over 10,000 captive elephants in Asia and elephant-related activities have been an important source of income for local communities for hundreds of years.

Furthermore, elephants have historically been revered and are culturally significant to the extent that many still seek blessings from and make offerings to them. They have fought wars on behalf of ancient kings, helped construct temples and continue to play an important role in human society.

ELEPHANTS IN TOURISM

In recent decades, the most common form of employment for elephants has been logging. However, many Asian countries recently banned this practice for environmental reasons, leaving many elephants ‘unemployed’. These elephants can not simply be released into the wild because deforestation over several years has reduced their living space. The same applies for captive-born elephants who grow up with humans and would struggle to survive if released into the wild spaces that remain.

They will need professional care for the rest of their lives. This leaves owners struggling to generate the approximately US$50 per day it costs to keep an elephant healthy. Some have since turned to tourism activities as an alternative form of revenue generation. Without it, the owners would not have enough money to keep their elephants healthy.

OUR POLICY ON ELEPHANT CAMPS AND SANCTUARIES

At Asian Trails we believe it is our duty, and that of other tourism stakeholders, to support communities that depend on elephants for their livelihood and whose elephants depend on their owners to provide for them. We are sensitive to the inter-dependence between elephant and human populations where we operate.

As a priority, we promote camps and sanctuaries which have been established for the primary objective of caring for retired working elephants, rescuing abused elephants and/or working for the conservation of the species.

We believe this to be the best way to support the conservation of the species and the local communities that depend on them for their livelihoods.

ELEPHANTS: TO RIDE OR NOT TO RIDE?

Many travel companies around the world have decided to boycott elephant camps offering any type of riding. Asian Trails does not take the same approach. Rather than boycotting all camps offering rides, we only offer elephant experiences that have been audited and approved according to strict, independent welfare guidelines, namely the:

ELEPHANT CAMP ANIMAL WELFARE & SUSTAINABILITY STANDARD AND ASSESSMENT INITIATIVE

This has been organized by Travelife for Tour Operators in partnership with PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association), Animondial and the Asian Captive Elephant Working Group (ACEWG). It provides a trusted and reputable framework for us to base our offering on.