Ethical Elephant Engagement
- By Iso Goot and Milav Ellefart
- Oct 18, 2017
- 1 min read
While you’re browsing through a guidebook on Laos, you come across a page telling you exactly where you should go for ‘responsible’ elephant tours. If you didn’t already know, elephant riding is bad, so it’s great that the guidebooks are promoting more responsible elephant treks/stays etc. If you book those tours, you are now a responsible tourist and can start feeling good about yourself! Why are these tours better than the mainstream ones? You don’t know, but because the guidebook says it is, then it must be. After all, the guidebook knows EVERYTHING.
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Seriously tho,
The issue of responsible tourism and ethical elephant trekking goes far beyond the surface of merely booking a tour labelled as responsible. How are these sanctuaries different from mainstream elephant treks and what makes them responsible? Often, in order to maintain the upkeep of elephants economically, elephants in ethical sanctuaries still have to serve tourists, albeit for shorter periods of time. They still have to carry humans on their backs, just without the seats. Unlike horses, elephants are unable to support human weight because their spine has bony protrusions instead of smooth and round spinal discs. The chairs attached to the elephants back also damage the skin and cause painful lesions on the elephant’s body. Travel guides merely tell us where to go and what to do but do not reveal why and how these elephant sanctuaries come to be labelled as responsible.
How do you feel towards using elephants for entertainment purposes? What are your thoughts on visiting supposedly responsible elephant sanctuaries promoted by guidebooks? We'd love to hear from you!
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