How to have an ethical elephant encounter: Legitimate sanctuaries and riding bans

By Rob Perkins

NZ Herald·

11 Aug, 2023 07:00 PM5 mins to read

World Elephant Day is marked on August 12, and it's a time to reflect on the pros and cons of elephant tourism. Photo / 123rf

For many travellers to Asia, elephant encounters are a bucket-list experience. But how can you tell it’s an ethical one? On World Elephant Day, Responsible Travel writer Rob Perkins explains more.

Elephant encounters are a bucket-list experience for many travellers, but too often, sanctuaries put profit before animal welfare.

Thanks to global campaigns, many have stopped offering elephant rides and “shows”, but problematic activities such as elephant bathing and photoshoots remain popular substitutes. They may seem like innocent fun, but often there’s cruelty behind the scenes.

A truly ethical encounter is one where elephants have as little to do with humans as possible. At observation-only, no-touch sanctuaries, visitors can take pleasure from watching elephants behave naturally, with their own kind, free to move around however they like.

Why travellers should avoid elephant bathing and photoshoots

Bathing an elephant in a river might seem perfectly harmless. After all, they bathe regularly in the wild, and pouring buckets of water or smearing mud on to their skin isn’t going to hurt. And what could be wrong with gently cuddling an elephant’s trunk for a photo?

The issue is control.

Simply, for members of the public to get close to them, these massive, powerful animals have to be kept under tight control. It would be too dangerous otherwise. That doesn’t necessarily mean a mahout - caretaker - standing there with a stick. It means the elephant has been taught that if it doesn’t do as it’s told, it will be punished. Unlike animals such as horses, elephants can never be domesticated; their spirit has to be broken in a violent process known as “the crush”.

In the wild, elephants bathe together in large numbers, rubbing against each other, rolling in mud, and running around. Obviously, if they’re surrounded by tourists it would be completely unsafe for them to behave naturally like this. So, they have to stand, or kneel, and stay still while people splash around them. Not only does this cause them stress, but given how much they weigh, remaining still for long periods can be uncomfortable.

An elephant's natural behaviour does not involve standing still while visitors pose with them. Photo / 123rf

Some sanctuaries offer elephant bathing several times a day with different groups of people. The elephants don’t have any choice about being washed, when, or for how long – visitors expect to get the experience they’ve paid for, and sanctuaries don’t want to issue refunds.

It’s a similar story to photoshoots. It’s not in an elephant’s nature to stand perfectly still while tourists pose next to them. At some point, the animal has been taught that it must behave.

Should we boycott sanctuaries that offer elephant bathing?

Just because a sanctuary offers bathing experiences or photoshoots doesn’t necessarily mean it should be avoided altogether. Elephants are incredibly expensive to look after, from food supplies to veterinary bills. The Born Free Foundation estimates the cost of looking after just one captive elephant to be around US$100,000 annually.

Given that an Asian elephant can live well into its 50s and beyond, and that most sanctuaries are almost entirely reliant on charitable donations and tourism revenue, it’s understandable that many sanctuaries see bathing as a relatively harmless way to bring in some much-needed money.

And often, these sanctuaries also do a lot of good – rescuing elephants from cruel tourist camps, or the logging industry – perhaps even helping to release some of them back into the wild.

You can still visit, learn, and make a donation – just leave your swimsuit back at the hotel.