Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve is delighted to announce that APAC Insider has awarded us the prestigious Elephant Sanctuary of the Year prize as part of their Endangered Species Protection Champions 2023.
The health and well-being of our rescued elephants are at the heart of everything we do, and this is just one of the reasons why we’re a leader in ethical elephant activities in Phuket. When you support our conservation-through-tourism approach, you help our mission to rescue even more elephants from situations of cruelty, neglect, and exploitation.
For now, though, let’s take a closer look at our incredible award and what it means. If you have any questions for our team in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Elephant Sanctuary of the Year 2023!
Cam McLean, Managing Director of Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, encapsulated just how much this achievement means to us all:
“We are immensely proud and it’s a huge credit to our whole team which has worked tirelessly to ensure our rescued elephants receive the very best treatment, protection, love, and care. This award is also for all our wonderful visitors and supporters who have made it all possible. We couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you.”
The APAC Insider Endangered Species Protection Champions 2023 is part of the South East Asia Business Awards. Based in the UK, APAC Insider is dedicated to recognising and rewarding excellence in the Asia Pacific region.
This kind of recognition means the world to us. Established by a cooperative of passionate experts as recently as 2019, we have come a long way in a short time, via a global pandemic that hit the Thai tourism sector especially hard.
But the team leading PENR has numerous decades of elephant welfare experience when added together, so, after a tough two years, we made it out the other side!
Today, our sustainable and ethical sanctuary near the west coast of Phuket continues to thrive. And because elephant welfare is and always will be our priority, we invest all the money we raise through visitor programs into caring for our elephants and improving our sanctuary.
This covers everything from providing veterinary services and buying elephant food to creating livelihoods for local staff and mahouts.
But most importantly, we have created a range of ethical elephant activities in Phuket that focus on observation and visitor education. We categorically do NOT offer elephant riding or bathing experiences and we keep human contact to a minimum. Find out why by reading our blogs Should I Ride Elephants in Thailand and Why Bathing with Elephants is Unhygienic and Unethical.
This approach allows our rescued elephants to roam, splash, and play in 30 rai of lush jungle as nature intended. In turn, this means your experience is far more authentic and meaningful. The behaviour you witness is how elephants act in their natural habitat, not as the result of a brutal, cruel training process.
PENR is also accredited by SGS Thailand (we passed with distinction with an overall score of 98%) ensuring the highest standards in animal welfare practices. We are always guided by international standards, so we follow strict guidelines for vet care, nutrition, and husbandry.
All of this helped us to win the Elephant Sanctuary of the Year 2023 prize. And while we couldn’t be prouder of this achievement, we have taken just as much happiness from our recent rescue of Nong Tang. She now joins Lotus, Bow, and Thonglor as the fourth member of our beautiful elephant family.
At the time of writing, we have a string of glowing customer reviews on Google, giving us a rating of 4.8 out of 5. And with a 5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor alongside our TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Award 2023, we have strong foundations in place to rescue even more elephants from the logging industry, circus shows, riding parks, and other tourist attractions in the years to come.
Support Ethical Conservation with Our Phuket Elephant Experiences
The best way to help us provide a safe home that allows rescued elephants to live a protected and peaceful life is to visit us at our sanctuary.
Browse our full range of ethical elephant activities in Phuket and find the perfect fit for your needs. Our Short 90-Minute Elephant Adventure is ideal for children or if you’re on a tight schedule.
Do you have more time to play with? Our Half-Day Elephant Adventure provides a more in-depth experience. If you value privacy and a more personal service, consider our Private Half-Day Phuket Elephant Adventure.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
