Entertainment
More than words
Elephants deserve to be treated with respect, not shackled and ridden to death. Elephants don’t carry people on their backs or perform tricks willingly. The mahout culture is also a critical component to this story. A mahout can directly improve or deprive the welfare of elephants in his care. Being a part of the problem, he has to be a partof the solution as well.Sunita Dulal
Elephants deserve to be treated with respect, not shackled and ridden to death. Elephants don’t carry people on their backs or perform tricks willingly. The mahout culture is also a critical component to this story. A mahout can directly improve or deprive the welfare of elephants in his care. Being a part of the problem, he has to be a partof the solution as well. The traditional method of training elephants includesbeating them to make them fearful of the Mahout. They are hit with bullhooks—heavy batons with a sharp steelhook on one end that can gouge and tear their sensitive skin— and elephants are beaten till they no longer have the will to resist. With that said, bullhook beatings are just part of the lifetime of abuse that captive elephants suffer.
Elephants are long lived with incredible memories and are highly social. In the wild, young elephants stay with their heard till adulthood, but in the tourism trade, still-nursing babies often have their bodies and spirits systematically broken by being forcibly separated from their mothers. They are immobilized and beaten, which leaves them injured and traumatized. Those who survive spend their lives inservitude and chains, deprived of the chance to roam and socialize,which are vital to their physical and psychological well-being. The relationship between the elephant and the mahout is one of master and slave where the elephant receives pain and lives in constant fear,thereby lashing out at his master, seeking revenge at an opportune moment. Hundreds of mahouts, across the world, have been killed by their own elephants.
Living in Nepal, every day I see Western tourists enjoying the marvels that this beautiful place has to offer: the ornate temples, the colorful cultural traditions, the food-stealing monkeys and most of all, its rich biodiversity. In Southern Nepal, there are several opportunities to go on jungle safaris and the popular way to do this is by riding elephants. It sounds quite exotic, doesn’t it? Here’s what the tourists don’t know: The only time these elephants are allowed to walk is when they’re working. The rest of the time, they stand in one place with their legs chained, unable to move. This torment can last up to several days. It not only takes place at public tourist attractions, but also at privately owned resorts. Not only is this practice cruel, but it also creates health issues, as their foot pads get bruised and their nails cracked.
Due to poor animal husbandry practices, eventually their feet become infected and result in diseases like osteomyelitis, which is not only painful, but fatal if notproperly cared for. In many countries like Thailand, Nepal, India and Cambodia, working captive elephants are used in tourism, logging, entertainment and religious ceremonies. These majestic creatures suffer in so many different ways throughout their lives, starting with inhumane training methods to break their spirits when they are young, so that they become easier to train. When the elephants are not helpful or compliant, they’re physically punished. Here are some things you should know about elephant rides or so-called jungle safaris:
• Many of the elephants are blind and wounded.
• Many suffer from tuberculosis, and even though treatment is given to them (generally), they rarely get a single day of rest.
• They are over worked. In Chitwan, the elephants are forced to go on approximately six rides a day, including during hot midday hours,taking up to five or six people on their back every day of the week. The howdah, or seat, is a heavy structure of metal or wood that overtime injures an elephant’s back. As large as elephants are, their spines are not strong enough to bear the weight of several humans on a heavy palanquin.
• They are dehydrated and under nourished. Most of the elephants drink dirty water and lack access to fresh fodder.
• Elephants are chained excessively when off work (at night or during the day) and often cannot move at all. This means they have to stand in their own excrement and urine, which causes infectious diseases.
Until the demand for the elephant rides diminishes, there will always bethe this cycle of abuse.I believe that if Western tourists stop being customers for elephant rides, it will immediately change the scenario and improve the welfare and lives of elephants across the country. There is hope for these wonderful, intelligent animals. More and more people are becoming aware of the inhumane conditions they go through. Anyone who cares about the welfare of these intelligent, empathetic, and sensitive animals, can help them by releasing them from chains and suffering. How? By refraining from riding them, by asking the resorts where you stay that they build chain-free corrals, by showing interest in seeing them in activities that are more natural to their essence, by complaining to authorities or hotel owners when you see cruelty, and by promoting positive reinforcement techniques to train the elephants. Now you know. Care to start spreading the word?
The author is a student at the Kathmandu Forestry College