Why Elephant Riding is Unethical

by Ralph Trayfalgar

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Elephants are one of the most majestic creatures on earth. Their size, strength, and unique social behaviours have led them to be seen as symbols of wisdom and power in many South and Southeast Asian cultures. This, combined with their use by royalty in these regions throughout history has drawn admiration from tourists around the world, who travel thousands of miles to witness these beautiful animals in all their glory.

And of course, the tourism industries of Thailand, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam are happy to oblige, with dozens to hundreds of elephant activity tours operating in these countries.

While a slow ride on the back of an elephant through a lush, remote jungle or a beach with pristine white sands might seem like a travel experience out of a fairy tale, the realities of elephant tours behind the scenes are not quite as beautiful. In this article we will go through 3 major reasons why elephant riding should be crossed out of your list on your next Southeast Asian getaway.

Reason #1: Elephant "training" for riding tours is not as it seems.

A guiding theme behind many of the arguments against elephant riding is the fact that there are no "trained" elephants, in the sense that they are not domesticated like dogs or cats. A truly domesticated animal is one that has been cared for and selectively bred over many generations until they are friendly to humans.

Taking this and an elephant's very long lifespan into account – elephants typically live for well over 60 years – and one can see how domesticating an elephant is not exactly feasible. For this reason, elephants are typically tamed rather than domesticated, and this is where the issues with elephant riding start.

Elephants that are tamed for riding tours are usually baby elephants from the wild that are forcefully taken from their mothers and herds, immediately after which they undergo a taming process called crushing, or phajaan as it is known in Thailand.

As its name implies, this taming process crushes the spirit of the baby elephant through starvation, isolation, and routine physical abuse until they become compliant and obey their handlers through fear.

Reason #2: Elephants used for riding tours have to endure inhumane living conditions.

Though the elephants have already been crushed through the phajaan taming process, that does not mean that they won't continue to endure harsh living conditions while on the job. Elephants that are tamed for trekking and rides are often under-fed and over-worked to serve as many people as possible within a single day.

Elephant treks take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours each, with hardly enough time for the elephants to rest in between sessions. This takes an enormous toll on the elephant's feet and legs, and any injuries that they sustain are rarely attended to by their tamers.

Elephants are also guided by handlers with metal chains wrapped tightly around their necks, restricting their breathing. And at the end of the day, these elephants are typically kept locked up in a cramped pen with their legs chained to the ground to prevent them from escaping.

Reason #3: Elephant riding hurts the elephants.

There are many sources online that state that riding an elephant is painful for the animal, but this is only partially true. The act of riding on the back of an elephant per se does not hurt the elephant in any way. What does hurt the elephant, however, is the use of a saddle or howdah that can cause blisters and skin infections on the elephant; not to mention the severe physical and psychological abuse that the elephant has to endure for them to be deemed "safe to ride" by tourists.

What can I do about it?

The suffering that elephants have to endure at the hands of exploitative elephant tamers for trekking and riding tours is truly heartbreaking, and we have already opted to remove some of the more graphic descriptions of elephant crushing in this article. So as a tourist, how can you still get to see and interact with elephants with the peace of mind that they are being treated humanely?

The first thing you can do is to avoid elephant rides under any circumstances. While many elephant tours market themselves as elephant 'sanctuaries', the fact remains that elephants have to undergo the brutal process of phajaan so that they become tame enough to ride on. Your best bet is to avoid any elephant tours that give you the chance to ride an elephant for any length of time.

The next thing you can do is look for real elephant sanctuaries. There are many resources available online that track and recommend elephant tours that treat their elephants humanely, so you can get once in a lifetime experiences with these majestic animals and also support their cause to saving more elephants abused by exploitative tourism.