• Menu
  • Menu
  • Business
  • Subscribe now
    Digital subscription Print subscription
  • Logout
Digital subscription
Print subscription
Trending
UAE holidays 2022 Golf in UAE Gratuity Calculator Mind Your Migraine
  • Latest News
  • UAE
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Government
      • Sheikh Khalifa passes away
    • Health
      • Why Worry
    • Transport
    • Science
    • Weather
    • Ask the Law
    • Reader Complaint
    • UAE's Hope Probe
  • Living In UAE
    • Visa+Immigration
    • Housing
    • Phone+Internet
    • Banking
    • Transport
    • Health
    • Education
    • Relocate
    • Ask Us
    • Safety+Security
  • UAE Success Stories
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Aviation
    • Property
    • Energy
    • Analysis
    • Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Corporate News
  • Best Buys
    • Electronics
    • Home and Kitchen
    • Offers
    • Consumables
    • Lifestyle
  • Your Money
    • Saving and Investment
    • Budget Living
    • Taxation
    • Expert Columns
    • Community Tips
    • Cryptocurrency
  • Food
    • Cooking and Cuisines
    • Guide to Cooking
  • Friday
    • Beauty
    • Wellbeing
    • Art & People
    • Home
  • Games
    • Daily Crossword
    • Sudoku
    • Word Search
    • Spell It
    • Play
  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Learning & Play
    • Child Health
    • For Mums & Dads
    • Ask Us
    • Games
  • Discounts
  • Play Games
  • Magical Dubai
    • Dubai Life
    • Live the Luxury
    • Culture and History
    • Adventure
    • Staying Connected
  • World
    • Gulf
      • Bahrain
      • Kuwait
      • Oman
      • Qatar
      • Saudi
      • Yemen
      • Games
    • Mena
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Philippines
    • Oceania
    • Offbeat
    • Coronavirus
    • Infographics
    • Special Reports
    • Games
    • Corrections
  • Special Reports
  • Photos
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Readers' Photos
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Eds
    • Letters
    • Off the Cuff
    • From the Editors
  • Sport
    • UAE Sport
    • Horse Racing
      • Dubai World Cup
    • Cricket
      • IPL
        • Chennai
        • Delhi
        • Punjab
        • Kolkata
        • Mumbai
        • Rajasthan
        • Bangalore
        • Hyderabad
        • Gujarat
        • Lucknow
        • Live Scores
        • Point Table
        • Top Scorers
      • ICC
    • Motorsport
    • Football
    • Tennis
    • Rugby
    • Golf in UAE
      • UAE
      • World
      • Photos & Videos
      • Course Reviews
      • Eagle Eye
      • Learn to Play
      • Gear
  • Entertainment
    • Hollywood
    • Bollywood
    • Pakistani Cinema
    • South Indian
    • Arab Celebs
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theatre
    • Arts+Culture
  • Expo 2020
    • News
    • Photos
    • Pavilions
    • Visit the Expo
    • Experience the UAE
    • Entertainment
    • Videos
  • Going Out
  • Auto
    • News
    • Test Drives
    • Car Culture
    • Auto Care
  • Lifestyle
    • Health+Fitness
    • Community
    • Fashion
  • GN Reach
  • Jobs
  • Tech
    • Electronics
    • Gaming
    • Media
  • Videos
    • How-To
    • Best Of Bollywood
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Business
    • Sport
    • Community
    • Technology
  • Travel
  • GN Focus
    • Special Features
  • Mind Your Migraine
  • 50 MENA Leaders
  • The Kurator
    • Share
    • Dare
    • Flair
  • Bayat Chapters
  • Gold-Forex
  • Gratuity Calculator
  • Notifications
  • Gold/Forex
  • Prayer Times
  • Cinema Listing
  • Newsletters
  • About Gulf News
  • Contact us
  • Work with us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Gulf News store
  • Advertise with us
  • Reach by GN
  • GN Focus
  • Gulf News epaper
  • Sitemap
  • Have your say
  • © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2022. All rights reserved.
    COVID-19 effect: As tourism plummets in Thailand, elephants are out of work

    Photos

    Login / Sign Up
    Logout
    Tuesday, July 5, 2022
    Gold / Forex

    Photos Business

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Readers' Photos
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
    All Sections

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

    A sudden drop in tourists has forced the closing of dozens of elephant parks in Thailand


    Published:  April 01, 2020 13:39 Compiled by Balaram Menon, Digital Content Editor

    1 of 18
    Copy of 757519-01-08-1585733992066
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    2 of 18
    Copy of 757501-01-08-1585733943553
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    3 of 18
    Copy of THAILAND-ELEPHANTS-6-1585733979404
    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. Image Credit: NYT
    4 of 18
    Copy of 757511-01-08-1585733952568
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    5 of 18
    Copy of 757506-01-08-1585733963275
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    6 of 18
    Copy of 757504-01-08-1585733967830
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    7 of 18
    Copy of 757505-01-08-1585733965404
    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." Image Credit: AFP
    8 of 18
    Copy of 757503-01-08-1585733970080
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    9 of 18
    Copy of THAILAND-ELEPHANTS-8-1585733973134
    The empty elephant show ground at Maetaeng Elephant Park, north of the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Image Credit: NYT
    10 of 18
    Copy of THAILAND-ELEPHANTS-1-1585733982970
    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. Image Credit: NYT
    11 of 18
    Copy of 757502-01-08-1585733941445
    A mahout with elephants foraging for food next to the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai. Image Credit: AFP
    12 of 18
    Copy of THAILAND-ELEPHANTS-5-1585733976411
    Maetaeng Elephant Park, north of the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Image Credit: NYT
    13 of 18
    Copy of 757514-01-08-1585733950131
    Elephants rescued from the tourism and logging trade gather to eat at the Elephant Nature Park in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai. Image Credit: AFP
    14 of 18
    Copy of 757515-01-08-1585733946678
    Mahouts feed elephants rescued from the tourism and logging trade at the Elephant Nature Park in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai. Image Credit: AFP
    15 of 18
    Copy of 757509-01-08-1585733957171
    Elephants foraging for food near the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai,Thailand. Image Credit: AFP
    16 of 18
    Copy of 757507-01-08-1585733959570
    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. Image Credit: AFP
    17 of 18
    Copy of THAILAND-ELEPHANTS-10-1585733986313
    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. Image Credit: NYT
    18 of 18
    Copy of 757510-01-08-1585733954889
    A mahout with elephants foraging for food next to the Patara Elephant Farm near Chiang Mai, in Thailand. Image Credit: AFP

    Trending

    • Pictures: Pakistan Mango Festival brings joy in Dubai

      Pictures: Pakistan Mango Festival brings joy in Dubai


    • Eid rules for worshippers, Hajj pilgrims -  in pictures

      Eid rules for worshippers, Hajj pilgrims - in pictures


    • Meet the new Miss India 2022, Karnataka’s Sini Shetty

      Meet the new Miss India 2022, Karnataka’s Sini Shetty

    Latest In

    • Abu Dhabi eases lease rule for 1,200 businesses

      5 minutes ago

    • Director Paul Haggis released from house arrest

      11 minutes ago

    • Saudi consumers are again getting a slice of Pizza Hut

      43 minutes ago

    • Lanka admits bankruptcy, crisis to drag through 2023

      43 minutes ago

    • Watch: Snake gourd with egg stir fry

      47 minutes ago

    Go back to top
    Network links:
    • Friday
    • Watch Time
    • getthat
    • Jobs
    • Commercial Printing
    • About Gulf News
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Gulf News store
    • Advertise with us
    • Reach by GN
    • GN Focus
    • Gulf News epaper
    • Sitemap
    • Have your say
    Find us on Social
    © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2022. All rights reserved.
    This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on Whatsapp
    Share on Mail
    Share on LinkedIn
    Close
    Gulf News

    Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News

    We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.

    Subscribe No Thanks
    Continue reading Gulf News
    Dear Reader, please register to read gulfnews.com

    Dear Reader,

    This section is about Living in UAE and essential information you cannot live without.

    Register to read and get full access to gulfnews.com

    Create your account
    or login if you already have one
    First name is required.
    Last name is required.
    Please enter a valid email address.
    Password should have minimum 7 characters with at least one letter and number
    Passwords do not match

    By clicking below to sign up, you're agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    Login your account
    New to Gulf News? Sign up now
    Please enter your email address.
    Please enter your password.

    Forgot password

    or