The elephants were allowed to roll around in the water, and we were advised to not only give the elephants space, but also be careful of getting the muddy water in their eyes, for our safety. Well, we hope you arent eating while reading this. I am not saying these businesses should close, the veterinarian said. Elephants are not that expensive to take care of anyway. Copyright The Wanderful Me 2017-2022 | All Rights Reserved Worldwide, read more about this wildly awesome place here, big fat list of unethical animal experiences, WHY MOST ELEPHANT SANCTUARIES ARENT ETHICAL. We used principal components factor analysis with a polychoric matrix (to account for the ordinal data) [58] to develop a factor matrix describing enrichment program component use. Now more than ever is it important for people to support the Mara and its inhabitants. Since research in humans [37,38] and other species (rodents [40,41], dogs [44]) demonstrates that physical activity can reduce health risks associated with musculoskeletal health issues, managers may be engaging older and Asian elephants in active managed activities (e.g., exercise and play) in an effort to mitigate these problems. Linear regression analysis of Percent Time Managed demonstrated that age and species contributed to the amount of time an elephant spent in managed activities (Tables 7 and 8). No, Is the Subject Area "Shannon index" applicable to this article? However, since both age and species are main effects in this model, we can infer that there is something about being an Asian elephant (other than the fact that Asians in this population are older than Africans [7]) driving species differences in managed time. Our goal was to assess the frequency and types of staff-directed exercise employed. All of these findings demonstrate that exposure to guides coincides with more frequent use of aversive stimuli in training interactions. The Enrichment Diversity scores we calculated had a possible score range of 0 (one type of enrichment always used) to 3.4 (equal frequency use across all 30 enrichment items). When I began to plan out my trip to Asia last year, one of the things I desperately wanted to do was see an Asian elephant. Vietnam's first ethical elephant experience | Vietnam Tourism If we as travellers did not demand and participate in these unethical activities, they would not be incentivised to create them. Enrichment, feeding, and exercise programs were evaluated using diversity indices, with mean scores across zoos in the midrange for these measures. Some speculate that guide use creates an aversive training environment, because of its potential to cause physical discomfort [55,56], while others contend that its use has few adverse welfare consequences if rewarding stimuli are used more frequently than the guide during training [47]. Another important factor associated with BCS in zoo elephants is feeding schedules; an unpredictable schedule was associated with a 69% decrease risk of BCS four or five as compared to elephants with a predictable feeding schedule . They have acted irresponsibly not only to the animals but to employees who committed their lives to their jobs. When youre that close to an elephant, someone (namely the mahout) has to maintain constant control over the animal. Check out our resource page for all offers and discount codes. It costs $200 a month to feed one.. You dont have to come close to wildlife, you dont need to touch them or get a selfie, just admire them from a distance., Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. Following on our 7 ways to know youre visiting an ethical elephant sanctuary guide, we wanted to share our personal experience on the Tangkahan Elephant Sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia. Our results suggest that public feedings can be an effective form of environmental enrichment for zoo-housed elephants. A 2007 study by the World Wildlife Fund found there were as few as 2,400 Sumatran elephants left in the wild, and the number now is thought to have halved as a result of poaching for ivory, human-elephant conflict, and deforestation. Yes *, Take my 10-Day Sustainability Challenge and each day you'll get easy, actionable steps you can take to become a bit more eco-friendly. Haas says BEC also left its staff without pay. Constant Control Required Though tourists are moving away from circus-style shows and elephant riding, many are swapping out those ridiculously torturous experiences for bathing and washing, up close feeding, or other close encounters Four zoos (5.7%) submitted partially completed surveys, and three (4.3%) zoos declined participation. We also wanted to assess whether enrichment was applied systematically, which can enhance its effectiveness [27]. Of these, the most common types were dirt piles and browse, which were used to some degree by all zoos (Fig 1). Conversely, African elephants spent significantly more time independent (mean = 51.4%, p<0.001), than did Asian elephants (mean = 43.1%). And a slight push from an elephant might very well be fatal. For example, we and our colleagues have found that the management factors described in this paper play an important role in predicting stereotypic behavior rates, walking rates, female reproductive physiology, and body condition in zoo elephants. The survey included five sections, each consisting of one to five questions. Oops! Once seen as a harmless activity, riding in howdahs (elephant carriages) is now widely recognized to cause pain and spinal damage to elephants. All rights reserved. Exercise programs have been implemented, in part, because zoo elephants are prone to developing pododermatitis and degenerative bone disease [33,34]. Thus, Enrichment Diversity scores characterize the variety of enrichment types utilized as well as the relative frequency with which enrichment types were presented. CBSG North America, Apple Valley, Maine, United States of America, Affiliation In the remainder of the introduction, we present the rationale for investigating each management category in the context of welfare assessment. Phang Nga Elephant Park is a tiny family-run park that has been operating for the past 150 years. Similar to humans, elephants also vary what they eat for dinner every night This group is a collaboration by various members of the Asia for Animals Coalition network. However, we were unable to do so, since the frequency of use was so low. As I began researching, hits for elephant riding kept appearing and when I dug deeper I learned of the inhumane and brutal practice of phajaan", which literally means to crush or break. 1:57. How to Visit and Volunteer at Ethical Elephant Sanctuaries - ExpatDen Proceeds support the Sheldrick Center and they are delicious! We derived the data from two online surveys, referred to as the Management Survey and the Training Techniques Survey. Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him), whilst mentioning the list of haram animals, states that it is not permissible to eat the meat of an elephant. Research on elephants and other species has shown that providing animals with smaller portions of food more frequently can improve body condition (sows [67]), reduce abnormal behavior (Asian elephants, giraffe, okapi [28,68]), and increase naturalistic feeding behavior (African elephants [25]). Riding: No Feeding: Yes Bathing: No About: Perhaps the most notable of the elephant sanctuaries in Thailand is Elephant Nature Park, co-founded by Thai elephant rights champion Lek Chailert.EVP has been an influential voice in the industry and has massively changed the elephant tourism market in Thailand and wider Southeast Asia. A smaller handheld jab-stick may also be used to jab the elephant in sensitive places such as behind the ears, to ensure it complies with the instructions from the mahout. We're here to help you plan your next adventure and show you how to travel consciously and sustainably! Managers indicated the percentage of days in the year the elephants had access to 30 different types of enrichment or exhibit features. Wrote the paper: BJG CLM JAM LJM DJS. These features could be important to facilitate self-maintenance behaviors and maintain skin condition and, as such, are integrated into enrichment programs as permanent or semi-permanent exhibit features. Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson criticize each other in - CNN It is most renowned for being one of the two places in the world, where you can see wild orangutans in their natural habitat. As well as an excellent education centre, visitors can also feed the elephants. News | Wildlife 'Just skin and bones': Bali elephants left to starve Experts say issue raises questions about elephant tourism in Indonesia, which was highly profitable before the pandemic. Riding Elephants: NO. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152490.g002, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152490.g003, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152490.t009. The kids really enjoyed feeding the elephants, as well as giving them a mud bath and rinsing them off in the pond. Variables for analysis were created by summing percent time across groups of behaviors as follows: Percent Time Training = sum of training known, training new, and training mixed; Percent Time Managed = sum of exercise, husbandry, Training Time, play, relationship sessions and demonstrations; Percent Time Independent = sum Percent Time On and Percent Time Off Exhibit. Or do you have an elephant sanctuary story to tell? Feeding questions addressed the various ways food was presented to the elephants at each zoo. With tickets priced between $2 and $4 and only a handful of visitors per day, Tasta Wildlife Park is operating at a loss, but it continues to ensure all its animals are well fed. Bali Elephant Camp (BEC) is a safari-style park, a half-hour drive north of Ubud, the Indonesian islands cultural capital, that offered a range of nature-based activities like bike-riding through rice fields, and white-water rafting. thus creating safe options for veterinarians and the elephant. For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click Its crucial if you want to be a more responsible traveler. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152490.t005. There are enough studies and research findings to believe that elephant meat could have been a source of food since age-old times. Within the zoo and aquarium community, the term enrichment (or environmental enrichment) covers a wide range of practices intended to improve animal welfare by facilitating the expression of important behaviors, such as foraging or self-maintenance, and by providing opportunities for play, exploration, problem solving, and exercising choice [20,21]. It sounds horrible because it is horrible. Public Feeding Interactions as Enrichment for Three Zoo-Housed Elephants Choose a truly ethical elephant sanctuary to ensure you make a positive impact. Not only was it incredibly memorable, it is also 100% ethical. There are enough findings to point out that African societies were proficienthunter-gatherers. Similar to humans, elephants vary what they eat for dinner