Thailand Elephant Nature Park
After lunch Lek takes time-out to speak to a room full of volunteers and tourists. She opens by telling the group Elephant Nature Park tries to focus on education which can stop a lot of cruelty. From the back row a male volunteer, Kingsley Williams from Australia asks, "Is any kind of elephant riding wrong?" ..Lek responds: "I have to tell you, I don't like it. But I don't blame people who ride them, because they want the experience, but if they know what is behind the...
more »After lunch Lek takes time-out to speak to a room full of volunteers and tourists. She opens by telling the group Elephant Nature Park tries to focus on education which can stop a lot of cruelty. From the back row a male volunteer, Kingsley Williams from Australia asks, "Is any kind of elephant riding wrong?" ..Lek responds: "I have to tell you, I don't like it. But I don't blame people who ride them, because they want the experience, but if they know what is behind the training it is not good. I can tell you that with elephant trekking in Thailand 100 percent of the elephants go to the traditional training crush. I'm going to show you this video I filmed across the border in Myanmar, but I warn you, it is very difficult to watch.". .The video opens with horrendous shrieks from a baby elephant whose feet and neck are chained inside a tight stockade made from wood logs. Villagers jab at its body with bamboo sticks, some with sharpened spikes on the end to inflict more pain. [Optional text: Blood drips from the wounds. The shrieks from the animal continue. Another villager smashes it across the face with a heavy pole. Water like tears drip from its eyes. The elephant continues to resist, but it can't move, and each time the beating gets worse. At one point a villager's uses one of the spikes to stab deep into its ear canal.] Several people in the audience begin to cry, some have to leave the room. This is the traditional training crush, used for centuries to break the will of these highly intelligent creatures, so they will obey and perform for humans. Elephants can be subject to the crush for 3 days up to one month, depending on how long it takes to destroy their spirit. ..
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Filename: Thailand Lek 74 .jpg
Copyright Roger Arnold
![After lunch Lek takes time-out to speak to a room full of volunteers and tourists. She opens by telling the group Elephant Nature Park tries to focus on education which can stop a lot of cruelty. From the back row a male volunteer, Kingsley Williams from Australia asks, "Is any kind of elephant riding wrong?" ..Lek responds: "I have to tell you, I don't like it. But I don't blame people who ride them, because they want the experience, but if they know what is behind the training it is not good. I can tell you that with elephant trekking in Thailand 100 percent of the elephants go to the traditional training crush. I'm going to show you this video I filmed across the border in Myanmar, but I warn you, it is very difficult to watch.". .The video opens with horrendous shrieks from a baby elephant whose feet and neck are chained inside a tight stockade made from wood logs. Villagers jab at its body with bamboo sticks, some with sharpened spikes on the end to inflict more pain. [Optional text: Blood drips from the wounds. The shrieks from the animal continue. Another villager smashes it across the face with a heavy pole. Water like tears drip from its eyes. The elephant continues to resist, but it can't move, and each time the beating gets worse. At one point a villager's uses one of the spikes to stab deep into its ear canal.] Several people in the audience begin to cry, some have to leave the room. This is the traditional training crush, used for centuries to break the will of these highly intelligent creatures, so they will obey and perform for humans. Elephants can be subject to the crush for 3 days up to one month, depending on how long it takes to destroy their spirit. ..](https://www.rogerarnold.net/img-get/I0000KygaAPFBmg8/s/860/860/Thailand-Lek-74.jpg)
