AfA opposes elephant cruelty at Phuket Zoo

Coalition joins forces to stand against shocking negligence

Today our coalition members, along with our network of global supporting organisations, have come together to co-sign a letter to Thai authorities to oppose the shocking conditions for Elephants at Phuket Zoo, Thailand.

When animal welfare activists Moving Animals, who we would like to thank for the images in this article, went to document conditions for animals living at the the zoo, they found an infant elephant to be extremely emaciated and in poor health. In spite of this, he was still being forced to perform for the amusement of paying tourists. Nick naming him “Dumbo” , they later found that on top of the malnutrition he suffered due to constant diarrhoea, both of his back legs were actually BROKEN.

Neither of these ailments were noticed by zoo staff until he sadly passed away due to his injuries. Read more about the tragedy that Moving Animals discovered, and the petition they started HERE.

Shockingly, the Zoo has not broken any laws in their treatment of Dumbo or any of the other animals in their care. When asked for comment, in this article in the Metro, Zoo manager Mr. Pichai said that he was “deeply saddened” , but also that Dumbo “was worth more than 1 million baht (£24,670)”.

According to Thai law, this Zoo is free to acquire more elephants, in spite of it’s well-documented abuse of Dumbo. That is why our network of expert animal welfare organisations has united in writing an appeal letter to local officials to make sure that this does not happen. Read our letter HERE.

HOW TO HELP

Using elephants for tourist attractions is a major problem throughout Asia. No matter how “ethical” they may seem, there is usually always a dark underbelly. Our member organisation, Animals Asia, has established the first ever truly ethical elephant experience in Yok Don national park in Vietnam, where visitors can see these beautiful creatures in their natural environment. No riding, and no silly tricks.

Please spread the word and let your friends know that they shouldn’t endorse this kind of cruelty

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