Captivity - Elephant Sanctuaries
A genuine elephant sanctuary takes in wild baby elephants that have been separated from their mothers or rescued animals, and cares for them until they can be returned to the wild. If the animals are unable to be returned to the wild, these centers care for them providing a natural-habitat environment.
Unfortunately, many people see an economic opportunity in exhibiting elephants calling their activities "orphanage" or "sanctuary" when they really are not. The animal welfare is the highest priority of any genuine wild animal rescue center, including elephants. Even If they include some tourist access, they will never use the animals for entertainment purposes and will always make their decisions for the benefit of the animals. Most of these centers do not allow contact between animals and visitors nor do they breed (except where necessary for the conservation of the species).
Most elephants used for rides, as well as those that can be found in fake elephant rescue centers, have been taken from the wild as baby calves and "domesticated" through brutally harsh methods called "breaking the spirit."
Many fake rescue centers allow touching the animals, under the supervision of a "mahout" (elephant trainer), who hopes to get a tip for this service. It is common to see the mahouts on site, carrying the ‘ankus’, the traditional elephant training tool. This long stick has sharp metal points at one end, which are used to control the elephant. It is this threat of pain that makes elephants trainable, and hence makes it possible to manage them. Injuries at the head of the animals and behind their ears are signs that they have been mistreated in an abusive and aggressive form with this stick.
In some pseudo-sanctuaries, visitors can watch how the baby elephants are being fed or even participate in the feeding process - against an extra fee. These baby elephants are not actual orphans rescued from the wild. They are usually separated from their mothers prematurely for these "shows".
There is no need to breed Asian elephants for re-introduction, as there are already many areas where the areas of habitat are straining to hold the wild populations living in them. It is now illegal to capture wild elephants for captivity in Sri Lanka, except in special circumstances, and it seems that this policy is followed in order to provide animals for the captive market, and quite possibly for institutions where the welfare of the animals cannot be guaranteed. Elephants do not breed well in captivity, and despite the longevity of the animals, no captive populations have ever been self-sustaining – new animals from wild populations have always been needed.
We often see chained elephants. Being very social animals, they get visibly distressed by not being able to follow the herd. Sometimes they are tied to trees by two or three limbs. This offers very limited opportunities for movement, and in some cases no access to clean water for much of the time spent restrained in this way. Let us remember that they need about 100l of water a day.
Musth is a condition experienced by adult male elephants, characterized by high levels of testosterone, which happens about once a year and lasts for a few weeks. During this time the animals experience increased sex drive and may roam longer distances than usual – a combination of behaviors that in the wild can lead to vital genetic dispersal. In captive elephants, however, the confinement and limitations on sexual activity can lead to aggression and destructive tendencies. For this reason, males are often tied up when in musth, which frustrates and distresses them further, making them even more difficult to manage and clearly compromises the welfare of the animals.
Breaking the elephant's spirit
To control these huge animals and make them submissive, they are usually deprived of food and water, are isolated from other elephants, chained, sleep deprived and stabbed with sticks that have sharp nails attached to them on sensitive areas such as their ears and eyes.
The pajaan is a centuries old Thai "training" (or "domestication" method) which unfortunately forms part of the Thai culture.
The purpose of this training is to "break the spirit" of the animals, to make them submissive and render them totally incapable of ever disobeying the orders of humans. This is achieved by separating baby elephants from their mothers (which alone is extremely traumatic), then placing them in small cages where they are tied so they can not move. The elephant is then beaten and stabbed repeatedly with sticks that have sharp nails attached to them. The beating goes on for several days.
The more the elephant struggles, the more severely it is beaten. As you know, elephants never forget so after the pajaan these giant creatures will forever be fearful of humans and always do what they’re told. In just 12 years in the Indian state of Kerala, some 1,000 elephants have died during their "training".
There is irrefutable graphical evidence of this process, as this video from National Geographic (Training Crush) and the photo report of the Magazine.
Learn more in this video produced by a Thai reporter about the problems of the elephants in the hands of tourism in her country.
Painting Elephants
It’s a myth that elephants are clever because they can paint. Please don’t think they are gifted or that it’s cute to watch this form of tourist ‘entertainment’. Here’s a few facts you need to know:
- Elephants endure months of physical abuse to learn how to hold a paint brush, draw a straight line and paint flowers and leaves on trees.
- For years they then paint the same repetitive painting over and over again, every single day, sometimes twice or three times a day.
- When training an elephant to paint, a sharp metal bull hook or nail is used to guide the paintbrush.
- When the elephant paints incorrectly they are beaten as punishment, often the hook is rammed into the elephants ear or they are hit on their head or trunk.
- Look for scars or beatings on the top of an elephants head or trunk from metal bull hooks used to train elephants for human ‘entertainment’.
Information from EARS (Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival Foundation)
