An elephant handler in Thailand is under investigation after a Spanish tourist was killed during a bathing activity at a venue advertised as an ethical sanctuary, an officer at the Tourism and Sports Office in Phang Nga province said on Wednesday. The grim incident has again spotlighted the question of how tourists can ethically - and safely - interact with elephants while travelling. Humans have been interacting with elephants for centuries, said Hannah S Mumby, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong ’s Area of Ecology and Biodiversity who has studied human-wildlife interactions and Asian elephants.
But regardless of how innocuous a tourism experience appears, she said, “an elephant is always still a wild animal”. Is elephant tourism ethical? Trick-performing elephant acts are mostly frowned upon these days, and experiences advertising ethical treatment and conservation efforts have sprung up in their place. But animal welfare organisations often urge against any tourism that involves interacting with wild animals, including bathing and taking photos close to elephants.
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