ETHICAL ELEPHANT TOURISM

Many elephant tourism camps claim to be ‘sanctuaries’, in some cases this may be because they have ‘rescued’ elephants from government logging camps where they may have been subjected to conditions leading to poor welfare outcomes.

Are there any ethical elephant camps or facilities?

We believe that a facility only offers true sanctuary if the following conditions are met:

• Elephants are provided with opportunities to express their natural behaviours with particular emphasis on their ability to socialise with other elephants and to forage within natural habitats where possible
• Elephants have the choice to live in stable social groups where possible  
• Violence is not used in handler-elephant interactions
• Breeding does not take place unless there is a clear, locally agreed and resourced path to safely return such individuals to the wild
• There is no direct physical contact between tourists and the elephants

Thankfully, there are many places which have truly rescued elephants from their lives of misery, places that allow elephants to be elephants in the company of each other and do not ask them to give rides, bathing or feeding experiences. 

If you want a truly ethical experience be sure to choose places where you can simply watch and observe as elephants are allowed to be themselves.

The ethical elephant tourism model

The ethical elephant tourism model puts the psychological and emotional needs of elephants first. The elephants spend as much time as possible free from direct human intervention, living as they would in the wild.

Animals Asia successfully ended elephant rides in Yok Don National Park in Vietnam and helped introduce the country’s first ethical elephant tourism model in the park. The elephants spend their days roaming in the national park, foraging, resting, sleeping, and interacting with each other while the tourists quietly follow and observe them from a safe and respectful distance.

They are presented with choices as to how they wish to spend their day, and this results in healthier elephants that are allowed to express themselves and their natural behaviours in ways that were previously not possible. We are in the process of negotiating to bring more elephants into this programme and establishing a second ethical elephant programme to provide more elephants in Vietnam with a sense of freedom and choice.

Read more

For more information and to book Vietnam’s first ethical elephant tours visit our Ethical Elephant Tours webpage.