Tourists to be fined for feeding elephants

[buksida]

BANGKOK — You can still feed elephants in Thailand's bustling capital — but it could cost you.

Bangkok authorities said Monday anyone caught handing bunches of bananas or sugar cane to the hulking beasts — proffered by their handlers to make money — faces a $320 (10,000 baht) fine.

Thailand has about 2,400 domestic elephants. There is little demand these days for the animals' traditional skills in logging and other labor, so owners sometimes loan them for begging from tourists and locals in major cities.

"The ordinance is issued to prevent untidiness or danger toward properties and lives of Bangkok residents," said Manit Techa-apichoke, deputy director of the City Law Enforcement Department, adding there had been cases of elephants hurting people and falling into drains.

Friends of the Asian Elephant, a Thai nongovernment group which cares for injured or mistreated elephants, called the fines a good start.

"I've been asking for them to do this for 15 years," said its founder, Soraida Salwalla, adding that she hoped other Thai cities would follow suit. "It's not the total solution, but it's a help."

Previously, mahouts — as elephant handlers are known — and their accomplices were fined for bringing an elephant into Bangkok, but those feeding the animal escaped punishment. Typically a tourist would pay 20 baht ($0.62) for the privilege of handing a bunch of fruit or vegetables into the elephant's trunk.

Manit said those caught feeding the animals would be fined, though they may be warned first.

He said authorities had caught 30 elephants in Bangkok the past four months, but none since the new ordinance took effect July 1, although handlers were finding ways to circumvent the crackdown.

"Mahouts have adopted a new tactic of using baby elephants and taking them from place to place on a pickup truck," he said. "They now work in the suburbs, instead of camping right in the heart of the city as they used to."

Source: AP

Thought: Another typical Thai govt reaction of attacking the problem and not the cause in addition to always blaming someone else. Its not as if hiding an elephant is an easy thing to do .... "sorry officer, thats not my chang it followed me here, get some money out of johnny foreigner over there".

[Spitfire]

Yeah, you see them now in most major cities, made to walk around in an as unnatural environment as possible, CDs or lights tied to their tails, sometimes even the child elephants walking with them over warm/hot asphalt.

For a country that professes to care for these animals and uses them as a national symbol, I'm sometimes surprised to see what goes on with them and how they are treated. Most elephants eat close to half a ton of vegetation a day in the wild, not a bunch of sugar cane etc after playing a harmonica.

Well, I suppose that, belatedly, some small gesture of action is being made, however inadequate and unenforced it might be.

[Vital Spark]

What a superb idea! Fine the tourists, and the mahouts - where does that leave a hungry elephant?

These animals are domesticated, they can't return to the wild (what's left of it). They need to be cared for and possibly worked for exercise. I hope that Ms. Soraida is willing to accept a further 2,400 elephants at her sanctuary. She does a great job, but these animals need food and looking after. The 'authorities' as usual have come up with an idea, without thinking of the consequences. Grrrr...

VS

[margaretcarnes]

Spot on VS - Maybe they should have an elephant contraception programme? It really seems to be a no win situation. I do have mixed feelings about elephants in Bangkok. As Trink once said - they are easily mistaken for a parking space in the dark - but how are mahouts supposed to support them for heavens sake?
'We' the Westerners oppose illegal logging. We oppose the risk of elephants in traffic and fumes. Some even oppose the use of elephants in shows at the many Thai theme parks. So the only answer seems to be Government funded sanctuaries.
And pigs will fly once again.

[charlesh]

Maybe Kn Manit wants a feed too??
Obviously been to the Loony tune school of animal welfare on last training session o/s.

[hhfarang]

Now they have come up with a different tack. Yesterday morning at about 8:30 two mahouts brought their elephant down the road we live on and were stopping at houses asking for handouts. We live in the "burbs" south of Hua Hin and west of Takiab in a totally foreign development area far from downtown. This is the first time I've seen this out here.

[Rob W]

There was a couple of guys with a baby elephant in the night market last night.

[Khundon1975]

I fed 2 bunches of bananas to an Effalump at the Phuket Fantasie some years ago, damn thing almost popped me into his mouth as well.

[STEVE G]

Over songkran that baby elephant was actually inside J.W.s bar being fed one night.
It's not everyday that you see an elephant in a bar, apart from the odd pink one!

[PeteC]

About 6 years ago I inquired during a night out at a beer bar what the baby elephant begging for food would cost. The mahout quickly said without thought, 300,000 baht. I assume he could have been negotiated down to 200K +-. The question is would he then go out and buy another baby elephant and start all over again, or retire?

There are sincere people walking around here with deep pockets who would pay 200-300K in a minute and take the elephant to a refuge somewhere. Some have probably already done it. The question is does that help or hurt the overall situation? Pete

[STEVE G]

I suppose the problem is that they come into urban areas where they can make more money even though it's obviously traumatic for the elephant.
Often a couple of elephants come to our village in Issan and take kids for a ride around the local fields for 10bt a go, which seems a pretty harmless existance for the animals but I don't suppose they're going to get rich on that.