9.5 Plight of the Mahout...................................
Since the cultural status of elephants has decreased and replaced with their eco-
nomic value, the cultural status of mahouts has also considerably dropped.
Traditionally, mahouts endured years of apprenticeship, economic hardship, and
physical toll before becoming qualified mahouts (Nijman 2014 : 11). The once noble
profession is now associated with low levels of status and self-esteem, a further
detriment to the already socially and economically marginalized position of
indigenous hill tribe minority communities to which many mahouts belong
(Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b:7–8). Ethnic minority refugees from Myanmar are
also commonly employed as mahouts (Cadigan 2016 ). There are important con-
siderations around how mahouts will earn a living without captive elephants (Duffy
and Moore 2011 : 594). The solution is not simple when those employed as mahouts
are in many cases undocumented migrant workers from neighboring countries who
simply do not have an alternative. These workers are paid below minimum wages
(Cadigan 2016 ), effectively bonded to their employers and at risk of rights viola-
tions from government authorities (Human Rights Watch 2010 ).
Mahouts have an instrumental role in individual elephant welfare as they are the
direct handlers of elephants in the tourism industry. The mahout profession tradi-
tionally required a lifelong interest in and dedication to elephants, resulting in a
mahout’s deep commitment to the elephant in their care. Today, most mahouts are
poor, uneducated young men who will easily abandon their elephants when better
paying work comes along because they never intended to commit to their elephants
long-term care (Lair 1997 ). This dynamic hurts camp owners, elephants, and
mahouts. Camp owners will require additional resources for training, elephants will
suffer when mahouts with insufficient skills and experience resort to rough methods
to control them, and mahouts with poor familiarity of that elephant’s temperament
leads to fatalities (Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b: 8). Mahouts earn 3000–5000 baht
($85–141) monthly salary and can earn between 200 and 1000 baht (5.5–28 $) per
day in tips from tourists which, as extra income, reduces the economic incentive for
mahouts to seek supplemental employment outside the camp and thus increases the
time spent between mahouts and their elephants. More income also means better
veterinary care, greater quantity of food, and a better range of food sources
(Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b:10–11).
9.6 Role of Western NGOs.................................
Western NGOs have been at the forefront of raising awareness about the animal
welfare issues in Thailand’s tourism industry. However, their approaches have been
criticized by scholars for their cultural insensitivity and simplification of the
complexity of Thailand’s captive elephant issue (Cohen 2013 ; Duffy and Moore
2011 ; Kontogeorgopoulos2009a,b). In 2002, People for the Ethical Treatment of
132 9 Elephants in Tourism. Sustainable and Practical Approaches...