Tourists Urged Not To Ride Elephants In Thailand As Horrific Photos Emerge

These awful images were shared on Twitter. Many people think that they came from a popular holiday spot for western tourist called Phuket.

Blood can be seen dripping from the elephants’ heads as their masters hit them with sharp metal hooks constantly.

Scars can be seen on some of the elephants’ heads from older wounds.

Abang Da Balik originally posted the pictures on Twitter in April of this year. Since then, these images have gone vial again, which drew the comments from officials in Thailand.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Thailand drawn to the attractions where they can feed, ride, and watch the elephants perform tricks. These tourists are now urged not to ride the animals or support the businesses that offer this kind of services.

Currently, 3,000 elephants are being used for entertainment all over Asia as stated by the World Animal Protection. More than 77% of these elephants are treated inhumanely.

Thailand is going through a difficult phase trying to eliminate animal cruelty in the country.

At the moment there are 3,500 wild and 4,500 domesticated elephants living in Thailand. Even though wild elephants are law protected, domesticated elephants are seen by the country as working animals.

Dr. Patrapol Maneeorn, a wildlife veterinarian of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, states that the Thai government agencies tried many methods to stop the abuse of animals. These methods include policy-making, support for research on wildlife, rehabilitation of injured animals, and stopping the illegal trade of wild animals.

He urges tourists to boycott the attractions that abuse elephants for entertainment purposes.

To tame an elephant, the process is just as horrific as the treatment they are getting once they are tamed and made to entertain.

The animals that are in captivity are beaten with bullhooks and other sharp and metal objects just to make them behave. After these animals are tamed and captured in captivity, the abuse on them continues.

Some of the elephants start swaying their head from left to right which is misunderstood as a playful tendency. However, this movement is a coping mechanism used by isolated elephants.

Elephants are forcefully taken from their mothers while they’re still calves and later are forced to undergo a lifetime of abuse.

There are sanctuaries in Thailand that want to fight and prevent the abuse of animals. Elephant Valley is a place where the animals can roam where they please and are only fed by humans once a day.