Don't Feed the Street Elephants in Asia - It Only Encourages Them

A street elephant I hear you say what in the devil is that? Having worked with EleAid (www.eleaid.com) for four years and studying urban elephants at length I will tell a tale of animal suffering that I hope you will recall if you ever visit Asia.

An elephant wandering down Madison Avenue in New York, Oxford Street in London or any other busy street in the western world would simply be unimaginable. However this incongruous occurrence takes place every night in some of Asia's major cities.

The elephants are brought to the cities by their mahouts (elephant keepers) who claim they have no other way for their animals to make a living. They reduce these wonderful, gentle giants from one of the most majestic of animals on the planet into common street beggars.

The standard method of operation is to tour the entertainment districts of a city and sell tourists and other revellers over priced fruit to feed to the elephants in reward for posing for a photo or performing a ridiculous trick. It is understandable that people will be charmed by the scene; after all how exotic is it to be enjoying a cold beer in a city bar and see an elephant stroll up? Who could fail to be moved not to hand over some change for the price of enjoying such a wonderful scene?

Sometimes the elephants are just youngsters no more than a couple of years old. Everyone loves a baby elephant and the mahouts that control them do very nicely thank you. An average street elephant will bring in about US$50 a night - not much in the west perhaps but significantly in excess of the average daily wage in Thailand or India. A really smooth operator with an especially cute elephant might make up to $250 a day - a small fortune in that part of the world.

The sweet sight of an elephant performing tricks is however the glamour side of the business. What the enchanted tourist does not see is the utter misery, desolation, loneliness and terrible health problems that these animals suffer.

The elephants work ten hours a night, seven days a week. They begin at 4pm walking the street while the concrete is still baking hot from the burning sun. Elephants' feet are designed for the cool forest floor and can suffer appalling damage on searing roads.

The urban jungle is alive with other appalling hazards. Elephants have been trapped after falling in sewers and it is commonplace for them to be involved in traffic accidents. You might think an elephant would be big enough to withstand the impact of a collision and that a car would come off worse but an elephants screaming in pain with a broken leg is a terrible and heartrending sight.

Many of the animals are also forced to take mind altering drugs. It is common for them to be given amphetamines to 'brighten them up' for the tourists. However the long term effects of a drug regime for these intelligent animals is brain damage and mental illness. It is not unknown for these gentle animals, tormented beyond reason, to break free of the fetters that hold them and run amok on a city's streets. Such incidents are a huge danger to the public and inevitably end with the poor elephant being gunned down like a common criminal.

During the day the street elephants hide away from prying eyes on waste ground that sometimes amounts to no more than a municipal rubbish tip. The surrounding undergrowth and available water supplies are often polluted leading to respiratory and gastric problems. There is often no shade to protect from sunburn (yes elephants are very susceptible) and rusty cans litter the ground with the ever present danger of septacaemia.

I list these horrors for you because I have seen them with my own eyes and I want visitors to Asian cities to be aware of the appalling conditions the street elephants suffer. Although it is illegal for elephants to be brought within the city limits the police have other priorities and taking a four ton elephant into custody is a task few wish to contemplate.

The only way this practice will end is for people to stop giving the mahouts money. Cut off the source of income and they will leave the city for good. Yes, I know it is hard to resist that sweet little baby elephant or the majesty of an adult. Surely one banana won't hurt? But it will. Every penny prolongs the suffering, not just of the elephant in front of you but also of the others of his kind enduring the misery of life in an urban environment.

If you do see an urban street elephant on a visit to the East please photograph it and send us the details. You can contact us through the EleAid website And please remember don't feed the elephants in the street.

About the Author:

Charles Begley is a trustee of EleAid - a charity working for the conservation of Asian elephants. This article is free for use in its unedited form with links intact. Please contact me if you intend to use the article. I can also provide free photographs and can be contacted via the EleAid website

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