Elephant tourism is a huge draw in Thailand, but to such a great extent that elephants have been abused and exploited to serve the industry. Sanctuaries have sprung up across the country to rescue the animals and provide a safe haven. However, not all sanctuaries actually have the elephants’ well-being in mind. Many still promote unethical and unsafe practices that are designed to appeal to tourists, such as touching elephants or bathing them.
At Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve (PENR), we are committed to upholding the highest standards of animal welfare for our rescued elephants. We have created this comprehensive guide to help you choose an ethical elephant sanctuary in Phuket and explain the policies of PENR. If you have any questions for us and how we operate, please get in touch.
While many places in Thailand may advertise themselves as an elephant sanctuary to attract tourists, they do not uphold animal welfare. These are some guiding questions ask to determine if a sanctuary is ethical:
If you are able to touch, ride, or bathe the elephants at a sanctuary, this is a good indicator that the elephants are not being truly looked after and protected. Elephants who are accustomed to human contact come from abusive environments (elephant riding, circus shows, street begging, etc) where they have been forced to interact with people. It is NOT natural to be able to touch an elephant, and it may lead to the spread of disease. This is why at PENR we have a “Hands-Off Elephants Policy” and provide experiences based around education and observation, where elephants can just be elephants.
Read our blogs for more information about Should I Ride Elephants in Thailand and Why Bathing with Elephants is Unhygienic and Unethical.
If you see an elephant performing any type of tricks, you are not at a sanctuary. True sanctuaries allow elephants to behave naturally, roam freely, and interact with other elephants. An elephant would never willingly perform without being forced through painful ‘training’.
No elephant should be held by chains or have bullhooks used on them. These are used to control and discipline elephants, instilling fear and removing autonomy. Elephants are trained to fear bullhooks in particular, which cause physical harm, so that they may be forced to perform tricks.
Many places advertise themselves as sanctuaries, but as soon as the visitors leave, the elephants will be chained up on a short chain or, even worse, both front legs chained together to spend the night in misery.
In a safe environment, you will see that a respectful distance is maintained between elephants and people. Caretakers may also accompany the elephants, at a distance, in order to help retain calm. Rescued elephants are still wild animals who may behave unpredictably.
All captive elephants in Thailand are privately owned, and rescued elephants have to be bought from the owners. This places them under the ‘ownership’ of the rescuer or sanctuary. However, some fraudulent sanctuaries will instead rent elephants from private owners under the guise that they have been rescued. You can ask to see the elephant’s ownership book to determine their origin.
Sanctuaries may appear to be well-run thanks to marketing strategies or outsourced management, but the owners will not be in charge of the operations. This indicates that animal welfare is not a priority, but profit is.
Ethical sanctuaries will have gained accreditation from 3rd party organizations such as World Animal Protection (Thailand) and Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES).
Awards indicate that the sanctuary has been recognized for its high standards, animal welfare, and commitment to conservation.
One of the best ways to learn more about a venue is to read previous visitors’ reviews and feedback. While not all reviews are always genuine or accurate, you can pick through the genuine ones to see what other people are saying. Good places to check are Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook.
According to the above criteria, Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve is a truly ethical sanctuary. You can learn more with our checklist of policies below:
At Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, we go above and beyond to ensure our elephants’ welfare and that of our community. In addition to the above, we provide expert veterinary care to our elephants and follow strict guidelines for nutrition and husbandry. Our sanctuary supports the livelihoods of local mahouts (caretakers) and staff, with mahouts living in accommodations near the sanctuary. We are disrupting the exploitative tourism model by creating a sanctuary based on conservation, protecting elephants and uplifting people.
Our Phuket Elephant Tours and Activities are wholly educational and go towards maintaining our sanctuary and caring for our elephants. Through our tours, you can observe the elephants behaving naturally, learn from our guides about their care, and help prepare their food. Our Short 90-Minute Elephant Adventure in Phuket gives you a quick introduction to the sanctuary if you don’t have much time, while our Half-Day Elephant Adventure is the ultimate experience and also includes a cooking demo and delicious lunch.
We hope that through our tours we can inspire more people to support ethical tourism and invest in conservation. If you have any questions about our sanctuary, please get in touch.