Shocking new video shows the dark side of elephant riding

By MiNDFOOD

REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton
REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Sunday, 12 August marks World Elephant Day, and in a shocking new video, Intrepid Travel highlights the harsh reality of torture brought on by elephant riding.

Intrepid Group co-founder Geoff Manchester has admitted to not knowing the dark side of elephant riding, but that there is no excuse any longer, in a mini-documentary released for World Elephant Day.

The travel company has shown graphic footage (see video below) of the torture of young elephants for rides, in a plea to travellers to stop the tourist attractions for good.

“I was the first ever Intrepid leader, so I guess I was the first Intrepid leader to take travellers on elephant rides,” Manchester says.

Intrepid Group was the first travel company to ban elephant rides in 2014 following research collaboration with World Animal Protection and many in the travel industry followed suit.

The confronting documentary highlights the practice of beating and starvation to make the elephants submissive for human rides.

“When we rescue elephants some of them have worked for humans for six or seven decades… More than 80% arrive with a huge mental problem. Some of them stand still like a zombie, some of them are very aggressive and angry,” Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai founder Lek Chailert says.

“I don’t blame people because they don’t know,” Chailert adds.

This is the message Intrepid is urging on World Elephant Day – you didn’t know. We didn’t know. But NOW that we do KNOW, we need to spread the message, with research showing that not all tourists know that elephant riding involves cruelty.

The latest research from World Animal Protection commissioned this year shows that 28% of Australians have taken an elephant ride. 40% of women think elephant rides are unacceptable, while 27% of men think the same.

Consumer sentiment and awareness is not at the level it should be, Manchester says, and on World Elephant Day Intrepid pleads with travellers to cease elephant riding for good.

“It’s just the start of something that will hopefully eventuate in elephant riding ceasing all together and that might be in 10 years or it might be in 20 years but eventually it will happen,” Manchester adds.

Watch the video:

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