COVID-19 effect: As tourism plummets in Thailand, elephants are out of work

Elephants are Thailand's national symbol. Some were used in logging operations for generations before 1989, when Thailand, facing the rapid destruction of its forests, banned nearly all commercial logging. More recently, many captive elephants have been put to work in tourist attractions, often in small operations with a dozen or so animals, where visitors can ride them. Some larger venues also offer elephant rides. | Above: In this file photo taken on February 12, 2020, tourists ride elephants in Chang Siam Park in Pattaya.

Underfed and chained up for endless hours, many elephants working in Thailand's tourism sector may starve, be sold to zoos or be shifted into the illegal logging trade, campaigners warn, as the coronavirus decimates visitor numbers. | Above: Elephants chained up at an undisclosed camp near Chiang Mai.

Before the virus, life for the kingdom's estimated 2,000 elephants working in tourism was already stressful, with abusive methods often used to 'break them' into giving rides and performing tricks at money-spinning animal shows. | Aove: Elephants and their handlers, known as mahouts, at Maetaeng Elephant Park, north of the city of Chiang Mai.

A sudden drop in foreign tourists has forced the closing of dozens of elephant parks and similar tourist attractions, putting these elephants in Thailand out of work and endangering their futures.

With global travel paralysed the animals are unable to pay their way, including the 300 kilograms of food a day a captive elephant needs to survive. | Above: An elephant at a camp in Chiang Mai.

In recent years, the main concern that animal welfare advocates have raised about Thailand's many elephant attractions has been whether it is abusive for tourists to ride the creatures. But for many owners, just keeping them fed is now a more urgent concern. Feeding an elephant can cost as much as $40 a day - more than three times the minimum daily wage in Thailand. | Above: A mahout venturing outside the park near Chiang Mai to collect grass to feed the elephants in the camp.

Theerapat Trungprakan, president of the Thai Elephant Alliance Association, a group of elephant attraction operators, said he feared that unless the government intervened, some elephants would be forced back onto the streets or even into illegal logging operations. "We don't want that loop of survival alternatives to come back," Theerapat said. "It will endanger the welfare of the elephants, such as having the elephants roaming the streets begging for bananas or sugar cane."

Elephants walking near the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai, where many camps have been shuttered by the government due to fears of the coronavirus spreading.

The empty elephant show ground at Maetaeng Elephant Park, north of the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Amnuai Charornsuksombat, 36, feeds his elephants after he had to return them to his village due to dwindling tourists at the parks where they worked, in Baan Thung Luang.

A mahout with elephants foraging for food next to the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai.

Maetaeng Elephant Park, north of the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Elephants rescued from the tourism and logging trade gather to eat at the Elephant Nature Park in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai.

Mahouts feed elephants rescued from the tourism and logging trade at the Elephant Nature Park in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai.

Elephants foraging for food near the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai,Thailand.

An elephant foraging for food next to the Patara Elephant Farm in an area affected by drought near Chiang Mai, where many camps have been shuttered.

Elephants are bathed by their handlers, known as mahouts, in Baan Thung Luang, Thailand. These three, owned by Amnuai Charornsuksombat, were taken back to his village because of the dwindling number of tourists at the parks where they worked.

A mahout with elephants foraging for food next to the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai, in Thailand.