Elephants. Not commodities. Taken for a ride 2 2 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 Cover image: Saddled elephants giving tourists rides at a venue in Cambodia. 3 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 Elephants. Not commodities Taken for a ride 2 Acknowledgement 4 Foreword 5 Executive summary 7 Introduction 11 Species information and population 13 The myth of the domesticated elphant 14 Tourist perceptions of captive elphants 15 Risks of elephant interactions to people 15 Captivity and welfare what to consider about the welbeing of elphants 17 Results 20 Animal welfare conditions at elphant tourism camps in Asia 21 Methodolgy 21 Findings 2 Thailand 29 Other countries 35 Documenting the common methods of elphant training in Thailand 40 Socio-economic study of Thai mahouts 45 Tourist atitudes, motivations and behaviour 47 The role of the travel industry 54 Economics of the elephant tourism industry 58 High economic value drives exploitation 61 Covid-19 impact: an opportunity to build back better 63 Conservation value and captive breding 64 Conclusions 67 Life in captivity 67 A way forward 68 Appendix 1 70 Appendix 2 71 Appendix 3 72 Appendix 4 73 References 74 World Animal Protection is registered with the Charity Commisionas a charity and with Companies House as a company limited by guarantee. World Animal Protection is governed by its Articles of Association. Charity registration number 1081849 Company registration number 4029540 Registered ofice 22 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB Contents 4 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 This report was authored by Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, PhD, World Animal Protections Head of Wildlife Research and Animal Welfare, and Lindsay Hartley-Backhouse, MSc, Research Manager. It would not have been possible to complete without the dedicated contribution of the following people (in alphabetical order): Rachel Ashwanden, Manoj Gautam, Tim Gorski, Elodie Guilon, Daniele Michon, Julie Midelkop, Faiza Mokerje, David Owen, Nick Reale, Amy Squires and Madison Wigley. Acknowledgement Image: A couple of elphants at a sanctuary in Thailand. 5 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 Foreword I have ben fortunate, over the years, to have spent a god deal of time watching elephants in Tanzania. Of course, this is a report about Asian elephants, but the two species are very similar in their social behaviour. Both species form close knit groups of related females and young, led by a matriarch and these groups sometimes join up, into larger herds. They have a complex comunication system that is only now beginning to be understod, and are among the most intelligent of al animals, with big brains, long memories and very distinct personalities. I spent time with a family group where one mother had very young twins which is not common in elphants. It was charming to se how they were trying to get the hang of their trunks, which clearly got in the way when they were trying to suckle. Their older brother was a pure delight to watch as he showed-off mock charging our land rover several times, tosing his head from side to side so that his trunk swayed to and fro. One of the females, possibly his mothers sister, gently swatted him with her trunk so that he moved away from us. Sudenly he spied a warthog in the grass and charged him. Elephants show great compassion for each other. As one wounded female lay dying the members of her group formed a close-knit group around her, stroking her body with gentle trunks, trying to help her to her feet. They stayed until she died. And returned next day to cover her body with branches and leaves. African and Asian elphants are both listed as endangered, and for both, habitat los is a major factor. As human populations expand, elephants come into conflict with vilagers when they raid crops. Both in Africa and Asia elephants earn tourist dolars, but whereas in Africa this is mostly through wildlife viewing, Asian elephants are ruthlessly exploited in captivity. Sangita Iyers acclaimed documentary “Gods in Shackles” provides tragic insights into their abuse for ceremonies at temples. And it is Asian elephants who have been forced to perform for people, trained to stand on their heads, walk upright, or to cary paying visitors on their back to walk in circles. Their situation is made more intolerable because of cruel training, proding with a pole with an iron spike called a bul hook, and shackling in between tourist performances. This report is the result of a 10-year study of the thousands of captive Asian elephants used and horibly abused for the entertainment of tourists, mostly kept in conditions that do not suply even their most basic neds. They are forced to give rides to groups of people on their backs throughout the day, or to be washed by people as a so caled ethical atraction. Some in Thailand are trained to make drawings to sel. Many of these elphants have ben captured as youngsters from the wild, others are bred in captivity, but all are torn from the love of their mother and families. And then comes a cruel period when they are beaten into fear and submission. Like us elephants know joy and sadnes, fear and depresion. Like us they feel pain. This torture goes on until their will is broken and they obey to their Mahout through fear. I went to one of the better elephant camps in Nepal. There they are trying to create an environment where the elephants can be released from their shackles and most of them were taken out to forage in the forest every day. Yet even there I watched two males hobling forward, their front legs tightly chained together to prevent them from runing off. It broke my heart and I am not ashamed of the tears I shed. The exploitation and cruelty as detailed in this meticulous report is all the more shocking because in both Buddhism and Hinduism the elephant is revered. The Hindu God of Beginnings is Ganesha or Ganesh, depicted with the head of an elphant. In Buddhism the elephant stands for strength, honour, patience, peacefulness, and wisdom. Both these religions teach respect for animals. Mahatma Gandhi wrote that “a nation can be judged by the way it treats its animals”. By this criteria most countries exploiting captive elephants and other animals would get very low marks. As I write, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every country and caused great sufering, loss of jobs and economic chaos. The tragedy is that to some extent we have brought it upon ourselves through our disrespect for the environment and our disrespect of animals. Zoonotic diseases are on the increase because we are creating ideal conditions for pathogens to spil over from animals to humans in the wildlife markets of Asia, the bushmeat markets of Africa, the factory farms of todays intensive animal agriculture and the trafficking of animals and their parts for food, medicine or exotic pets. Tuberculosis, one of the 10 most deadly diseases, has repeatedly spiled over from humans to elephants, and infected elephants can infect humans. By Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE 6 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 It is to be hoped that this pandemic will lead to us developing a new relationship with the natural world of which we are a part and on which we depend. We must recognize the importance of intact ecosystems in which every species of animal or plant has a role to play in the tapestry of life. Tragicaly we are losing species at an unprecedented rate we are in the midst of the 6 th great extinction, and this one is caused by us. To continue to capture or kil elephants in the wild is leading to their extinction in the wild, to the detriment of the habitats where they live. To continue to exploit them in captivity, whether wild caught or captive born, is to perpetrate unacceptable cruelty to highly intelligent social and sentient beings. More and more tourists are becoming educated and demanding elephant friendly experiences safaris to see them in the wild or sanctuaries where rescued elphants are rehabilitated. More and more people are understanding that we humans are not the only ones with personalities, minds capable of solving problems and, above all, emotions. What was acceptable in the past is no longer aceptable as our understanding increases. Of course, those whose livelihoods depended on the exploitation of these amazing beings, the mahouts and the owners, must be helped to find other ways of making a living that are both profitable and ethically acceptable. This report provides insights and propositions that, if followed, could ensure that the current generation of captive elephants kept for comercial tourism is the last. Future generations of elphants must not experience captivity they should thrive in their natural habitat. I pray we all do our part to ensure this vision comes true. Jane Godal, PhD, DBE Founder, the Jane Godal Institute and UN Mesenger of Peace Image: Two elphants at a sanctuary in Thailand 7 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 v This report documents the plight of the 3,837 elphants used in tourism in Thailand, India, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia as of January 2020. It features elphant living conditions, training, breeding, the status of the industry, academic research regarding welfare and conservation and is part of our 10 years work in the region. Over these years we have conducted more than 1,00 visits to more than 350 elephant entertainment venues, conducted several global public surveys, engaged with hundreds of travel companies and asociations, and been working with elephant venues on the ground. Despite greater demand for ethical tourism and awarenes of the distres caused by elephant rides, the vast majority of captive elephants in Asia stil endure widespread and lifelong cruelty, living in severely inadequate conditions. And their situation is likely to get worse because of the numbers of captive elephants stil being bred for the tourist industry and the economic devastation caused by Covid-19. Pre-Covid-19 we estimated that the entire captive elephant tourism industry generated between US$581.3 to US$770.6 milion of sales per year on the back of elphant sufering. Now, with very few tourists, owners and venues are strugling to feed their elephants and pay their workers. Throughout our research we have consistently found distressing cruelty to captive elephants in al countries. It involves separation of mothers and calves, harsh training methods, restriction of movement, por nutrition, limited or no veterinary care, social deprivation and punishment. In most tourist venues the elphants are chained for long periods when not needed for tourism activities, often in inadequate shelters featuring concrete floors and unhygienic conditions. They wil typically have litle or no social interaction with other elphants and are made to perform strenuous and stressful activities. Our researchers also noted many venues actively trying to bred more elphants into captivity. This not only fails to adress the core problem of elephant captivity, but also reduces the limited resources available to the elephants already in the industry. Assesing elephant welfare conditions We asesed elephant welfare using nine recognised criteria considered to have a significant direct impact on an elephants Executive summary welfare. Our researchers visited elphant tourism venues offering a range of entertainment activities including rides, shows, elephant washing, feding, selfies and observation. Our dat was colected through in-person observation of the elephants, tourism activities and living conditions as wel as through informal conversations with staff on site. Photographs and occasionally videos were taken to document the findings. Ongoing sufering but also some positive changes From January 2019 to January 2020, our researchers asesed the welfare conditions of 3,837 elephants at 357 venues. In the Asian countries evaluated for this report we found 2,390 (63%) elephants suffering in severely inadequate conditions at 208 (58%) venues. Improved, yet stil inadequate conditions, were experienced by 1,168 (30%) elephants. Only 279 (7%) elephants were kept in truly high-welfare observation-only venues. We documented distresing conditions at venues with severely inadequate welfare conditions. Frequent short chaining, demanding activity schedules for the elephants, limited possible social interaction betwen elphants and conditions that alowed for very little natural behaviour were comon. Venues with improved, yet stil inadequate conditions often offered half or full-day elephant washing or bathing experiences. Despite tourists perceptions that elephant washing, and bathing venues provide high welfare to elephants, our researchers expressed concerns about these atractions. Although our research shows that venues offering bathing activities typically offer better welfare conditions than riding venues, they stil have significant welfare problems. These facilities were often misleadingly promoting themselves using terms like sanctuary; rescue centre and ethical. The high welfare, primarily observation-only venues allowed the animals to behave more naturally and within natural habitats. Visitors at these venues had very limited or no direct interaction with the elphants. They were able to enjoy observing elphants being elephants, without human interactions, while the mahouts continued to supervise their elephants remotely. 8 Elephants. Not comodities Taken for a ride 2 Thailand centre of captive elephant tourism Nearly thre quarters of the elphants in Asia are used in Thailand (73%, 2,798) which atracted 39.8 milion tourists in 2019. Our research estimates that about 10.9 milion (28%) of those rode or planed to ride an elephant while on holiday in Thailand. Our 20192020 research identifies Thailand as a continuing hotspot for elephant suffering. This is because of the number of elephants involved and the scale of cruelty inflicted due to tourist numbers and demand. The overal number of captive elphants used for tourism has increased by a shocking 70% in just 10 years. Betwen 2010 and 2020, there was a dramatic 135% increase in the number of elephants living in the very worst of conditions in the country. Out of 2,798 elephants, we found that only 5% (144) were kept in high welfare conditions. India India is home to the second highest number of elephants used in tourism out of the countries in our report. Twenty one tourism venues housing 509 elphants were assessed. We found that 4% (25) of the elphants were kept in severely inadequate conditions. Fifty one percent were housed in medium welfare venues. Just 4% of the assessed elphants lived in higher welfare conditions. Seventy percent of elephants were housed at venues offering rides. Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, we identified and assessed 13 venues, housing 188 elephants. This is an increase of 13% or 22 elephants held captive since 2015. More elephants were living in severely inadequ