Asian Elephants in Thailand

Throughout Asian History, Thai Elephants have been highly honored and respected as a part of  Thai Culture.  The sad part is that a limited amount has been done to help and protect them. Human exploitation is the real threat against the Thai Elephants. Elephants are also being threatened because of illegal logging or from the dangers in the cities along the streets, with their mahouts searching for money to support themselves and their elephants. Poachers kill the elephants for their ivory and for their calves. Other indirect threats involve industrial plantations, cutting down trees for agriculture, developing businesses in the forest reserve areas, and dams or road construction.

Concerned citizens wonder why Thailand can’t solve its elephant problem. Many government leaders make excuses by saying it is a complicated issue involving the laws, the culture, the shrinking forest land, and the lack of funds, to name a few. Some officials are worried that some well-meaning organizations cannot do much of anything for fear of conflicts.  Non Government Organization (NGO) Groups like the Thai Animal Guardians Association (AGA) is saying the problem is “Lack of Unity.”

The problem is not the lack of proposals. Since 1991, many have been made but no real plan has been put into effect as yet. In spite of all the commissions discussing the problem, nothing decisive has come clear. This lack of concerted effort has caused conditions for the country's elephants to get worse. It is difficult to move forward when no one can agree on what moving forward really means.

The Thai Animal Guardian Association (AGA) has been deliberating the state of the elephants and the issues comprehensively, and they came up with two dynamics.

Wild elephants in Thailand

Legally, Elephants are listed as Protected Animals under the Conservation Act 1992. However, considering the following data, they should now be listed as an endangered species.

In 1991, it was estimated that there were 1,900 wild elephants. By 1997, there was only an estimated 1,700, a drop of over 10% in the population.  The elephants left in the wild are mainly female elephants and young male elephants because neither of them have tusks.

This estimate is very difficult to prove.  By counting the actual number of elephants sighted, and including ones killed or found dead between 1991 and 1999, there could be less than 1 000 elephants in the wild. These are startling numbers, and a complete survey of the actual number of elephants in the wild should be one of the highest priorities if elephant conservation is going to be a commitment by everyone in Thailand.

Issues Involving Wild Elephants

Deforestation is another huge problem in Thailand that effects the elephant population. In 1957, Thailand’s forest was 80% of the undeveloped land, but by 1992, this had been reduced to 20%. This is a devastating drop of 60%. Unnecessary developments are the main cause of deforestation. Logging caused a large portion of this forest land reduction, and even though it was banned in 1989, it still continues. The Elephants are getting harmed because of farmers, gas pipelines, pineapple and eucalyptus plantations, dam and road constructions, and even resort construction in forests areas. All of these occurrences have caused the elephants to lose their natural habitat and their feeding grounds, which cause the elephants to wander into risky areas looking for food. This can cause problems between the elephants and the plantation owners. When there are conflicts like these, they often end with poisoning of the elephants, and many of those poisoned die. 

A big problem that affects the reproduction of the elephants is twofold: Poachers hunt for male elephants because they want their tusks, and they also hunt for females to take their young calves. Three or more female elephants often care for the young calf, so all of them are put at serious risk.

Solutions Pertaining Wild Elephants

Here are six major solutions that could help protect wild elephants:

First, put them on the endangered species list instead of classifying them as a protected species. This will give the government real legal power to impose stiff penalties on anyone who causes harm to elephants in any way.  

Second, make all products illegal that are made out of elephant parts, including ivory, skin, bone and all organs from both live and dead elephants. This would stop any poacher claims that the parts came from domesticated elephants in and outside of Thailand. No one can tell the difference between ivory taken from a wild elephant and a domesticated one, so by making all products illegal, no legal avenues would exist for poachers to sell their products.

Next, completely reform domesticated elephant registration.  Using microchip and DNA records would especially help save elephant calves because a large number of wild elephant calves are being sold as domestic ones.

Fourth, make all the forest land left special reserve forest and prevent any commercial use of forest resources. Stop or greatly limit more development in forest land. Don’t allow any project that would affect the environment negatively. When conservation is in danger, we have to stop giving in to local or national financial interests.

Fifth, we have to teach villagers and small communities about elephant conservation and the laws that will be meant to protect them. Villagers sometimes kill wild elephants, as do plantation farmers, so local populations can help by monitoring and protecting their own environment.

Lastly, we can give law enforcement officers and forest rangers real power to investigate and control crimes involving forests and their resources—which include wild elephants.

Domesticated Elephants in Thailand

Currently, about 3,000 domesticated elephants live in Thailand in 41 provinces and three regions. Most of them are in the North—about 2500. Not far away in the Northeast are about 400 more. In the middle of Thailand are around 100. This includes those elephants that are in zoos. The Western provinces near the Myanmar Border are where we find most of the wild elephants.

Unemployment and starvation are at the heart of all domesticated elephant dilemmas in Thailand. When logging was banned in 1989, many domestic working elephants were no longer needed in Thailand. Some of them went to illegal logging operations near and even inside the border of Burma. The areas could have dangerous working conditions, and some elephants have died or been seriously injured by falling off cliffs or stepping on landmines. Many elephants face starvation from a lack of natural food sources because of Government deforestation and the expansion of industrial plantations.

Even though the jungles of Thailand are shrinking, some domesticated elephants still patrol these dense areas with forest rangers.  Some tourist attractions have elephants that give rides or perform in shows like the one at Siam Niramit in Bangkok—even circuses and cinemas.  Some elephants still play a large part in local ceremonies in the Northeast. Not far from Bangkok, an Elephant Festival in Surin takes place every year. Unfortunately, because it is only once a year, the Surin mahouts often bring their elephants to Bangkok and other large cities to basically beg for money.

The current regulations and laws related to domesticated elephants don’t really apply now because most of the laws and regulations are outmoded, useless, or non-effective. The Beast of Burden Act, enacted in 1939, was adopted at a time when elephants were still used as transportation in Thailand. Another thing that is just outdated is the elephant’s identification papers. In the papers, there aren’t any descriptions or positive ID.  When a baby elephant was born it was necessary to report the elephant within eight years, but it’s only just been changed to three. If possible, the newborn should be reported as early as possible.

When a domesticated elephant gets sold, this emotional and intelligent animal falls under a lot of stress, and they have a hard time getting used to their new owners. Many of the mahouts aren’t the elephant’s real or original owner; they are just keepers. These mahouts often don’t have feelings for the elephant and the elephant does not care for them in return. Sometimes these mahouts don’t treat the elephant well, and without that bond, they can’t control them during an emergency. Sometimes this can cause disasters; for example when the elephant becomes infuriated, the mahout can’t do anything about it.

Five things that can lead to elephant welfare issues and can also endanger public safety are as follows:  using force to discipline the elephant, training that makes them violent, not providing appropriate care, giving the elephant drugs, and making elephants wander the streets looking for money.

Six Factors That Affect Elephant Welfare Issues

Both wild and domesticated elephants suffer from deforestation. Adult elephants eat over 200 kg a day, which is more than an ordinary farmer can afford. Owners usually let their elephants feed on natural vegetation in the jungle and bathe in a nearby canal. Deforestation has taken away all these, especially in the Eastern part of Thailand.

• Room is running out for the elephants since the bamboo bushes have been replaced with Eucalyptus plantations. Also, lots of the rivers are starting to run low.

• Food and water are still obtainable in the north if you go into the mountains, but even so, problems exist. Accusations have been made that domesticated elephants are destructive in the forests and have polluted the streams, but the Mahouts say that the Thai villagers made those allegation only because they don’t want to share the bamboo shoots with them. Elephant owners without citizenship have difficulties because the forest authorities and local councils say that the elephants are not to go on any reserved forest lands.

Unfortunately, mahouts and their elephants are often subjected to unfair business agreements. The mahouts are underpaid and rarely get legal contracts. If there is one, it is often ignored when the employer so chooses. 

 Solutions to Protect Domesticated Elephants

 Many solutions have been proposed for the protection of domesticated elephants, but I believe the following are the most important:

Place all the domesticated elephants under the Protection of Wildlife Conservation Act. Owners keep their elephants and care and work the elephants through a permit. Changing ownership has to be strictly controlled.  If an ownership change is not conducted legally through the conservation act, then the mahouts could lose their permits and ultimately their elephants to the government.  The elephants then become property of the Thai Government as well as any newborn elephants subsequent to Government takeover.

Provide free elephant Medicare and food to owners and organizations with elephants under their care. Veterinary visits should be provided for all domesticated elephants in the country. This will help minimize expenditure for those who care for elephants.

Totally revise the registration method for positive identification of all domesticated elephants. Birth records, transfer of title deeds, breeding and death reports should be regulated to prevent registration fraud between wild and domesticated elephants. Newborn elephants should be reported and registered within the first month after birth.

Ban elephants roaming the streets and provide appropriate careers for the mahouts. Regulate elephant businesses to ensure a fair contract for the mahouts. This will eliminate the elephant loaning business for beggary, and protect elephant welfare and public safety.

Upgrade the status and expertise of mahouts to a professional level. Anyone seeking benefit from their elephants should pay a fair price. Thai mahouts should receive professional recognition and a fair income.

Consider the possibility of a rehabilitation process. Third or fourth generation domesticated elephants may be released together, in a suitable area, for rehabilitation into the wild.

The issues involved with the elephants in Thailand can be solved. Thailand needs to come together as one with willpower and strength of mind to guarantee achievement in aiding the Asian elephants in Thailand.

Wild elephants have to be protected as well as their habitat and productive well-being. For example, if an elephant is seriously injured, there may be issues with rehabilitation. If the only alternative is to work in the entertainment and tourism industry, then we need to accept this as a viable alternative in the ongoing efforts made in conservation to help the elephants.

Every action or development that may endanger an elephant’s wellbeing or their habitat should be forbidden. For example, actions or developments which harm elephants are villagers using all their habitat recourses, mahouts who bring them to the big cities to make money, shops which sell ivory, politicians who offer financial plans to build more dams and businessmen who take the elephant’s habitat to create more plantations must be stopped.