VICTORY! Cambodia bans cruel elephant rides to the temples of Angkor Wat

VICTORY! Cambodia bans cruel elephant rides to Angkor Wat temples as unfair to animals.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

La Cambodia it is a famous destination all over the world especially for the marvelous temple at Angkor Wat, which travelers often reach by elephant. At least so far! The authorities of Apsara have in fact decided to ban elephant rides, providing for their definitive elimination within the next year.

Local spokesperson Long Kosal told AFP:

"Using elephants for business is no longer appropriate."

And in fact almost a third of the animals have already been moved to a forest far from the temples in order to allow them to live according to nature.

The country made this decision following numerous pressures from animal rights groups and even the tour operator Intrepid Travel, which offers trips to Cambodia, has already decided for years to eliminate elephant tours from its packages.

After having deepened the practices of many companies in the period 2010-2011, helped by World Animal Protection, the tour operator of which Geoff Manchester is co-founder, he has in fact noticed that many elephants were mistreated and tortured to be tamed and become proof of tourist. An unjust and cruel practice that convinced them, starting from 2014, to no longer offer elephant rides.

The mistreatment of elephants for tourism purposes

PETA Asia describes the mistreatment of elephants in the tourism industry as a ruthless world, where animals are treated like slaves, taken still tiny from the wilderness, after their mothers are killed, to be subjected to the man who tortures them until they obey .

According to Peta, of the 45.000 Asian elephants left in the world, 3.000 to 4.000 are held captive in Thailand alone, to be sold for various purposes, including tourism.

It is not true that they are saved from terrible conditions and it is also not true that they are domesticated, as those who exploit them often declare. On the contrary, Peta states that they are captive animals subjected to human control through cruel practices that serve to frighten them so that they carry out the sad tasks to which they are obliged.

Many specimens are taken from the forests when they are still cubs while the mothers are often killed because they do not conform to the purpose. They are therefore immobilized, mercilessly beaten, covered with nails for days, injured and traumatized by attempts at "domestication".

Once enslaved, they work to exhaustion to please the tourism industry, often deprived of water and food. Not only in Thailand but also in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Fortunately, this cruel practice is starting to be banned, we hope that other countries will take Cambodia as an example!