Elephants

Punished every day

All ‘tame’ Elephants are trained with bullhooks. Bullhooks are hooks attached to long sticks, which are used to beat and punish the Elephants, if they don’t do as they’re told. All Elephants you meet as a tourist are tamed and trained this way.

Many Elephants get severe wounds from the bullhooks. But in most Asian countries it is illegal to put an animal down, even if it is suffering and in great pain.

Around the age of 3 years Elephants are taken from their mothers and are pacified and held in the same position without food for days. The Elephant’s future owner gains their trust by being the first one to feed them after days of starvation.

You can do something: Stop riding Elephants on your holidays!