10/08/2024
BIG AND CUTE????
On “Elephant Culture”, “Elephant Use” and “Elephant Welfare” Asian elephants live in Asia from South Asia to Southeast Asia and China. Thailand is one of the areas where Asian elephants are found. Thai people have a long-standing relationship with elephants. We cannot deny that we have been using elephants, which are wild animals, since our ancestors, which is no different from the ancestors of many other nations, such as the use of wild horses by Westerners and the use of wild dogs around the world. Back to Thai elephants, because elephants are large, they are often used for jobs that require a lot of strength that humans cannot do, such as using them as vehicles in war, carrying things over long distances, or pulling wood. Training wild elephants for work has been a way of Thais since before the word “Thailand” was even used. However, Thailand currently does not capture wild elephants for work anymore. The domesticated elephants that we are used to seeing are all descendants of domesticated elephant parents. The elephants we see in various elephant camps today are familiar with people because these elephants have seen and been with people since the day they opened their eyes to the world. Most elephants work in the tourism industry, such as performing shows, riding elephants to see nature. Feeding, bathing, or even walking around to show off to the public are also considered to be a type of elephant usage. It can be said that Thai domestic elephants are another important destination for tourists from all over the world because Thai domestic elephants are familiar with people and can be touched closely. In addition, the fact that elephants are inseparable from the daily lives of Thai people is a significant charm that makes foreigners want to visit Thailand. However, there are always two sides to a coin. When there are people who support the use of elephants for tourism, there are certainly people who oppose it, as has been reported in various media both domestically and internationally. The problem of using elephants in Thailand is like the question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" If two groups of people with extremely different opinions were to argue without anyone giving in, no amount of time would be enough. But aside from arguing about the use of elephants, one thing we cannot ignore if we still want to be called Thais who love elephants is giving importance to the lives of elephants. Since we still have to use elephants today, elephants also need to eat and use things like humans. Therefore, elephants need a work-life balance and a good life outside of work, just like humans. Currently, there are many academics who study the lives, health, welfare, and use of Thai domestic elephants. This is to try to find the right point to make Thai elephants have a good life while the Thai elephant raising culture is not destroyed.
