9.4 Elephant Tourism and Conservation.......................
Thailand’s total elephant population has drastically decreased within the past century
from a total population of approximately 100,000 in 1900 to a significantly lower
number of 4450 in 1990 (Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b). Today, an estimated 1000–
1500 of Thailand’s elephants remain in the wild, most living in protected areas such as
Khao Yai National Park and Huay Keng Wildlife Sanctuary (Elephant Nature
Foundation n.d.; Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b). However, the survival of the Asian
elephant is threatened by the poaching that occurs in Thailand’s national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries and the illegal live elephant trade in Myanmar, both of which are
fueled by the demand for baby elephants in Thailand’s tourism industry (Cohen 2008 :
10). The tourism industry demands elephant calves because they have a greater appeal
to tourists who will pay more to have close contact with baby elephants. This is a new
trend as traditionally adult elephants were sought after for wild capture since they
could be trained and put to work (Nijman 2014 : 8). Most baby elephant poaching
within Thailand occurs in the wilderness areas of western Thailand, along the border
with Burma and particularly in Kaeng Krachan National Park (Cohen 2015 : 174).
Capturing them from the wild is preferred over breeding them in captivity due to their
long gestation period, low birth rates in captivity, and the ease at which they can be
trafficked across the Myanmar border (Nijman 2014 : 9).
The capture of wild elephants to supply the tourist trade in Thailand is now being
recognized as a potentially significant threat to the entire species (Nijman 2014: 8). It
has been estimated that as many as 75% of captive adult elephants used for tourism
entertainment have been taken directly from the wild (World Animal Protection
2010 ). Non-captive wild elephants in Thailand are governed under the Wild Animal
Reservation and Protection Act 1992 (WARPA) which protects the hunting, killing,
and trading of wild elephants or wild elephant parts. Perpetrators will receive afine
of USD 1330 and/or up to four years in prison. Nijman ( 2014 : 6) rejects these
penalties as sufficient deterrents to elephant traffickers, as the current value of live
elephants on the market is at least 25 times greater than thefine. Elephant calf
poaching causes at least one or more elephant fatalities. Poachers often kill the calf’s
mother and sometimes more members of the herd as they willfiercely protect the
calves against an intruder (Cohen 2015 : 175). Unfortunately, there are more captive
elephants in Thailand than there are wild, and the continuation of illegal elephant
poaching is possible through a loophole within the registration policy of the Draught
Animal Act 1939 which covers captive elephants and gives them the same legal
rights as livestock—a reminder of Thailand’s traditional ideology regarding ele-
phants (Cohen 2015 ; Nijman 2014 ). The system only requires that animals over the
age of eight be registered with the appropriate government department, meaning that
elephants younger than eight years old are easily illegally poached from the wild and
snuck in among the captive elephant population and then registered as a“domestic”
elephant (Nijman 2014 : 6). This loophole prevents the necessary protection of wild
elephants and is extremely counterproductive to wild elephant conservation efforts.
It is another detriment to the elephant tourism industry.
9.4 Elephant Tourism and Conservation 131