Elephant eaters see no shame in jumbo meal

Villagers in Phrae province sustained by pachyderms in death, as they were in life

When elephant meat becomes available at a small village in Phrae province, fanciers of the rare meal are quick to buy up the treat.

PUT HIM TO WORK: Forestry officials use elephants in patrolling forests to prevent illegal logging in the North,

''On a day that elephant meat is available in the village, it is eagerly snapped up and sells out in no time,'' said Uncle Pao, 73, from Wiang Thong village in Sung Men district where elephant meat costs 100 baht a kilogramme. ''Nobody wants to buy other kinds of meat.''

Despite the cultural cringe of the national symbol finding its way on to the dinner plates of villagers, the people of Wiang Thong have no remorse about consuming elephant meat when they can.

Their ancestors had a close relationship with the animals which were used for logging, and the consumption of a carcass is simply viewed as the elephant providing sustenance for the villagers. The local governor believes it can become a tourist attraction, and the practice of eating elephant meat is already attracting curious onlookers from neighbouring provinces.

Wiang Thong village was once a vibrant logging area before the government ordered the closure of forests across the country in 1988 to prevent illegal logging.

Wilaiwan Chindamanee, 55, a female kamnan or sub-district chief of Wiang Thong district, said there were about 400 elephants in the village about 27 years ago.

At that time, elephants and their owners worked for the Forest Industry Organisation and logging provided most of the villagers with a livelihood.

CHOICE CUTS: Cut pieces of a dead elephant is prepared for sale and consumption in Wiang Thong village in Phrae,

Sanan Chindamanee, 55, a former kamnan of Wiang Thong, and husband of Mrs Wilaiwan, said: "Many logging companies paid us to transport logs using elephants. Sometimes we went to work as far away as Burma."

Elephant owners and mahouts in the village grouped together as an association. When an elephant died, each member would chip in 400 baht and the money was given to the owner of the dead elephant to buy a new one. But when the logging ban was enforced the villagers were made jobless and many had to sell their elephants to survive.

Mr Sanan said that after a foreign reporter visited Wiang Thong village eight years ago to cover the practice of elephant eating, untrue stories emerged that they were killing the elephants.

"We only eat meat from dead elephants," said Mr Sanan.

"It's impossible for us to kill elephants. They are very expensive. Even back then, they cost between 50,000 baht and 100,000 baht."

NOTHING WASTED: Chamlong Sanpapao, leader of a team skilled in cutting up an elephant carcass, shows a bottle containing fluid taken from the glands on the sides of the head of elephants. The fluid is believed to have magical properties.

Mr Sanan said villagers develop a close bond with their elephants from childhood and always feel grateful to the pachyderms for their usefulness. The death of an elephant is always mourned by villagers.

When it comes to the meat, a team of men skilled in cutting up an elephant carcass is called in.

Before cutting up the carcass, a rite is performed to apologise to the elephant for what they will do.

The reputation of the team preparing the carcass has spread to elephant owners in Surin, the northeastern province famous for capturing, taming and training wild elephants.

When elephants die there, elephant owners in Surin contact Wiang Thong villagers to come and buy the elephant carcass. Mr Sanan said some elephant owners in Surin give away carcasses for free and came to the village to witness for themselves the practice of eating elephant meat.

Chamlong Sanpapao, 46, who heads the team that cuts and prepares elephant meat, said in the past people believed that eating elephant meat could boost physical strength and promote longevity.

TOOTHY: Sanan Chindamanee, left, and Wilaiwan, his wife, with elephant teeth kept as mementos,

Mr Chamlong said villagers pay a lot of money to buy elephants. "When they die, their owners don't want to get rid of their carcass. They still can make money selling their carcass," Mr Chamlong said.

An elephant carcass can fetch between 10,000 and 30,000 baht, he said.

Mr Chamlong said practically every part of an elephant body is valuable, particularly its tusks.

Even its bones are made into decorative items or talismans.

Of the body parts, an elephant penis is considered a delicacy which requires a complicated cooking procedure, said Mr Chamlong.

In the past, if an elephant died in the forest, a "hunting" team would be sent to find the carcass and then the cutting would follow. But such teams no longer exist because most elephants die in cities, said Mr Sanan.

Phrae governor Somchai Hatayatanti said the practice of eating elephant meat in Wiang Thong village had attracted curiosity from outside.

FORM A QUEUE: An entrance and an access road leading to Wiang Thong village,

It is one of the province's rarities and could be promoted as a tourism attraction, he said.

Permanent secretary for natural resources and environment Saksit Treedet said the number of elephants in Thailand, both wild and domesticated, is declining rapidly.

The latest survey shows there are no more than 5,000 elephants in the country and it is predicted that if no serious effort is made to help save them, they could become extinct within 14 years, Mr Saksit said.

Sitthidej Mahasawangkul, director of the Lampang-based Elephant Hospital, has advised mahouts and elephant owners to take special care of elephants, particularly sick and old ones, during the cold season.

Cold weather can have an immediate effect on the health of elephants, Mr Sitthidej warned.