Working with elephants is not a simple “right or wrong” matter; we strongly advise consulting both factual data and professional feedback. Our goal here is to inform and provide knowledge on key topics regarding elephant tourism in Southeast Asia.
Q. Are the elephants in the tourism industry still wild?
A. While they may come from the wild, they are not wild anymore. Elephants working in the camps with tourists have been trained to work with humans, sometimes, unfortunately, inhumanely, in the likes of illegal logging camps.
Q. What is a stereotype movement, and what does it mean?
A. An elephant may be swaying from one leg to the other or ‘dancing’ with their head and trunk. Repetitive movement like this is called “stereotypy” and is related to a past situation when the normal behaviour of the elephant was restricted. It can continue, even when living conditions improve, and should be monitored by the Mahouts.
Q. How are elephants trained to interact with humans?
A. It’s almost impossible to track how each elephant has been trained in the past, whether ethically or abusively. In ethical camps, there are several techniques to train the elephants (some influenced by horse training), including positive reinforcement or target training, for example
Q. Should elephants working in camps be reintroduced into the wild?
A. Due to drastic and tragic levels of deforestation and human incursions into elephant habitats, elephant reintroduction is rare. Concerns about human contact and the spread of disease also contribute to the rarity of elephant releases, so most captive elephants will remain in human care for the foreseeable future.
Q. Should I trust a camp based on its name only?
A. Trusting a brand or a camp name is not a guarantee of ethical practices, especially without any regulation regarding elephant camp labeling. This means that owners of camps can brand their businesses any way they’d like without fearing official reprimands. Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES) has certified camps against published criteria since 2019 and maintains a public register, which is one way to check a camp independently.
Q. Do all Mahouts treat the elephants badly?
A. No. A skilled Mahout may spend a lifetime with the same elephant and know its behaviour in detail. But some elephant keepers have little to no proper skills and discredit the profession. It is essential to distinguish between elephant keepers and more skilled Mahouts, who should demonstrate great dedication and empathy.
Q. Should all activities, including interactions with elephants, be banned or boycotted?
A. Boycotting or banning aren’t considered sustainable solutions to common problems like struggling camps reselling elephants to logging companies, or even for their ivory. A dialogue must be engaged with the camps and elephant owners to raise their awareness of the level of welfare expected for the elephants in the long term.
To read more about our Elephant Camp and Animal Welfare guidelines, please browse our Ethics Code HERE.
