The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has been urged to implement tighter rules and clear standards for businesses that operate as elephant sanctuaries.
TAT has acknowledged the negative impact on elephant welfare as caused by the absence of tight regulations and requirements to register as elephant sanctuaries.
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According to EuroNews, TAT has noted that anyone can register a ‘sanctuary’ business name without meeting animal welfare criteria. Such ambiguity has allowed some businesses to use the term merely as a marketing tool, and not so much a genuine commitment to animal welfare.
Furthermore, wildlife NGOs have continually stressed that genuine ethical sanctuaries focus on observation rather than interaction.
This allows elephants to live with dignity while benefitting from tourism in a way that safeguards their well-being.
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Speaking to TravelNews, Brian Young, Managing Director EMEA at G Adventures, shared that they have signed the World Animal Protection Elephant Friendly Pledge. It commits to not selling or promoting attractions that offer elephant entertainment.
‘We now educate our travellers on why they shouldn’t ride them or visit businesses that offer this activity. To allow our travellers to enjoy the incredible wildlife that we share our world with and protect these animals, we worked with the Jane Goodall Institute, World Animal Protection and the World Cetacean Alliance to create our Animal Welfare Policy ensuring all activities we offer involving animals never exploit wildlife’.
In the past few years, TAT has been developing a monitoring system for elephant tourism which focuses on elephant conservation, welfare and clear standards.
Although sanctuary standards and regulations are yet to be finalized, some guidelines have been provided to encourage tourists to behave respectfully around elephants.
In an advisory, visitors are encouraged to avoid close interactions, to refrain from feeding wildlife, to recognize signs of aggression and to stay on marked trails. Calmness is also encouraged in unexpected encounters.
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