Tourism is big business in Thailand. In 2020 alone, tourism boosted the Thai economy by 883 Billion Baht which is about $25.6 Billion USD. One of the biggest tourist attractions in Thailand is elephant riding. You’ve no doubt seen photos of someone on vacation in Thailand smiling from ear to ear while riding an elephant. I’m not going to lie, the photos look epic. Anyone would be enticed to do the very same. So what’s the big deal? In truth, elephant riding raises serious questions about the ethical treatment of the animals. From my own personal experience, I’ve done both: an elephant sanctuary and taken an elephant ride. Today I’d like to dive into whether elephant riding is ethical and safe. Heads up – the answer isn’t so crystal clear.
Elephant Riding Timeline
Elephants and Thailand have a long history. In-fact the elephant is the National Animal of Thailand. Their cultural importance is rooted deeply in history and religion. Elephants have also played many important roles throughout Thailand’s history from royal parades, to being used in war and logging. Around the year 1989 Thailand suspended the use of elephants for commercial logging. With so many elephants in the country after centuries of breeding – the gears shifted from logging to tourism.
I’m telling you, nearly the moment you step off the plane in Thailand – ads for elephant riding are everywhere. You simply can’t miss them.
‘Up Close with the Elephants!’
‘The Elephant Experience!’
‘Ride the Elephants!’
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again elephant riding is big business. Elephants are the National Animal of Thailand – of course tourists want the opportunity to be up close and personal with the majestic creatures.
I’ve personally been to Thailand three separate times and each time I’ve debated whether riding elephants is ethical. As an American honestly the only times I’ve seen elephants in person was either at the circus or the zoo. Elephants were and still are exotic animals in my book; riding one is enticing to think about.
What’s the Big Deal about Elephant Riding
The reason elephant riding is questionable boils down to how they are treated during training. As you may know elephants are not naturally keen to humans riding them. Most wild elephants are trained and tamed for riding via a process called ‘Phajaan’ which means ‘to crush’. This process involves removing a baby elephant from its’ mother and placing it in a small confided space like a cage or steep holes in the ground. Sometimes the baby elephants are beaten and even sleep deprived. As you can imagine this practice is cruel and definitely harmful to the elephants. If you feel you can watch this process unfold, with caution watch this video from YouTube. It is important to note though, not all wild elephants are trained and tamed this way for human riding. More about this later during my experience riding an elephant.
Elephant Sanctuary vs Elephant Riding – My Experience
The very first time I visited Thailand was in 2018. Back then I had zero concept of whether elephant riding was ethical or was even a thing; I just thought elephants were cool and I wanted desperately to be near them. My group of friends and I made a last minute decision to visit an elephant sanctuary while we were in Chiang Mai before leaving for Vietnam the next day and I’m glad we did. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the elephant sanctuary we visited – what I do know is my friends and I discovered the most caring and loving elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai.
At this particular sanctuary we had to change out of our own street clothes and place on the provided shirt and short set. After changing, we also got to personally chop up sugar cane for the elephants before hand feeding them. I promise you, doing this was an incredible experience. The elephants were so beautiful, friendly, hungry and huge! At first it was super intimating to put my hand up to the elephants’ mouth but it was totally fine and so fun feeding them. Fun fact: did you know a single elephant eats between 165-330 pounds of food every single day? We got to feed the elephants one of their many meals of the day. Following that, my group and I got to walk a group of elephants down to a small river to bathe them. Just an incredible experience.
My friends and I just happened to stumble on this sanctuary by chance and didn’t expect to ride elephants. Looking back I’m glad we didn’t. Being able to connect with the group of elephants by feeding them and then bathing them was a phenomenal experience. I can not express the feeling of being so up close and personal with an elephant. They are truly magical creatures.
Fast forward to my third visit to Thailand in 2022 – this time around I did ride an elephant. (Also if you are wondering, I did not see any elephants during my second visit.)
Previously I mentioned that elephant riding is generally considered unethical due to cruel training and taming processes. By 2022 I was aware of these practices. The difference from my riding experience is the farm I visited was just that – a family farm in the mountains of Chiang Mai. The small family which owned the land and the elephants raised their elephants cruelty free. No phajaan practices were performed or ever had been performed on their elephants. This family had tons of land and space and still utilized their elephants for logging and completing farm tasks – as Thailand people did on a larger scale before commercial logging was suspended for elephants in 1989. These elephants were unique in that they truly were raised to be ridden by humans ethically and harm-free.
Now being honest, going into this experience I was incredibly skeptical and scared. Firstly elephants are beautiful creatures that are extremely intelligent and kind. Asian elephants also weigh between two and five Tons and are about nine feet tall. Their size alone is intimidating. To put this experience into perspective, this trip was facilitated by the owner of Libra Guest House, which is where I stayed in Chiang Mai. Her husbands’ family owned the small farm that my group visited.
This farm was nearly three hours deep into the Chiang Mai mountains and sat atop a huge hill. The family explained everything about their history with the elephants and how they trained them, before inviting us to ride them. My small group of about 10 people were reluctant the ride the elephants at first but eventually we all did in small 1-2 minute increments. The owners did such a great job with the elephants as we rode them too. They were beyond gentle and kind with the elephants. No whips or tools were used to guide the elephants down the short road that we used. Instead everything was a gentle voice command. We also made sure the elephants took a break and rested before each ride. The entire experience was respectful and kind toward the elephants.
Having ridden an elephant I can tell you, it’s definitely an experience. My group was able to mount the elephants from an elevated cliff – as the family helped lift each person the rest of the way up the nine-foot animal. Upon mounting the elephant I realized literally how high up I was. I can not say this enough, elephants are huge! In truth, the family wasn’t lying their elephants really did enjoy us riding them.
In Conclusion
My experience riding an elephant was unique. I actually paired with a family which raised its’ elephants cruelty free for human riding. Not all places are like this. In-fact most are not and do use cruel method to tame their elephants.
Elephant riding was an incredible experience and so was feeding my seperate experience with feeding and bathing the elephants at a sanctuary too! My best advice is to do your research before booking your elephant excursion. Not only that, call them up and ask specific questions about their training methods before booking. There are a plethora of ethical camps and sanctuaries where you can interact with elephants in Thailand. Elephant Hills, Hua Hin, Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary and Elephant Nature Park are just a few.
In summary, elephant riding is legal across Thailand and Southeast Asia. However the choice to ride an elephant lies completely in your hands. Technically it’s okay to ride an elephant in Thailand however to really get down to the heart of the matter as ethics are concerned, you’ll need to do your own research about the sanctuary or farm you’re visiting first. From there make your own choice about whether their ethical practices are in line with your beliefs.
Whatever you decide I hope you have a great time in Thailand and thanks so much for reading.
One response to “Is It Okay to Ride Elephants in Thailand? It’s Complicated”
Can I simply say what a relief to uncover somebody that truly understands what they are discussing over the internet. You certainly know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people must look at this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised that you are not more popular given that you most certainly have the gift.