Baby elephants ridden by drunks. Gruesome scenes those posted on Facebook from Nikki Beach in Phuket, Thailand
Riding an elephant? It seems to be the dream of many pseudo-travelers who go to places - Thailand in the head - where this vile activity sold as a "tradition" is "slammed" in the face of tourists.
This is the case, for example, of the baby elephants ridden by some drunks, of some gruesome scenes, that is, published some time ago on Facebook from Nikki Beach in Phuket, in which human beings (?) in an evident altered state were portrayed, happy and revelers, of innocent pachyderm puppies.
Soon after it was the Wildlife Friends of Thailand Foundation (WFFT) who shared those shocking images on social media causing a shower of angry comments on Twitter and Facebook. Hence the hotel's decision to remove the photos, however underlining the fact that the use of elephants in Thailand is a tradition and they just wanted to promote the popular Sunday brunch.
Extremely questionable, so much so that this same declaration has over time provoked yet another wave of indignation and the hotel then announced that it will no longer use elephants. And let's hope so.
Elephant Nature Park, a natural sanctuary hidden in the beautiful forests of Northern Thailand, works very well on this front. Their mission is protect and care for abused elephants saved from the tourism industries and raise awareness and promotion of sustainable elephant-friendly tourism. The park currently cares for 36 elephants.
In short, contrary to popular belief, the backbone of elephants, especially that of the little ones, is very delicate. These animals they should never carry heavy loads, nor to be ridden. And above all in light of the fact that, in order for people to ride on them, young elephants - illegally captured - have to go through a horrendous process of domestication and horrific punishment.
Thailand, alas, it is not new to this type of animal abuse. In recent months, the abuses and illegal wildlife trade inside the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi had created a scandal. Last year, a tourist was attacked by a young tiger forced to interact with visitors to the Tiger Kingdom, whose management obviously claims not to drug the animals.
In short, if you really want to be in contact with nature in Thailand, avoid these bad places and those luxurious hotels that want you to believe you are touching the traditions of the place with your hand. In Thailand, as in other Southeast Asian countries, you will find many "sanctuaries" where you can see elephants, for example, in their natural environment. Here an interesting link.
Germana Carillo
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Tiger Temple: stop the abuse and mistreatment in the tiger temple in Thailand
