Elephant riding is one of the most popular activities for tourists in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam(Marshall). In fact, according to the BBC website, elephants gave over 13 million rides last year to tourists in Thailand alone, and 40% of tourists of the top nationalities who visited these countries stated that they rode elephants during their travels(Marshall). It's not difficult to imagine why riding an elephant is so appealing to the masses. After all, elephants are the world’s largest mammals and famous for their majestic appearance. In a multitude of cultures, they are known as symbols of strength, power, and wisdom. For many, elephant riding is an enduring, life-changing experience that is remembered for a lifetime. However, a look behind the curtain will show that elephant riding is not as magical as it seems. In fact, I would go so far as to say that elephant riding is, by all definitions, animal abuse.

During their training for elephant riding, elephants undergo a process called phajaan, which means “crushing” in Thai(Edelman). During phajaan, elephant trainers attempt to break the elephants’ spirit so that they will never defy a human again(Edelman). They are kept in cramped areas, hit with bull hooks and bamboo sticks spiked with nails, starved, and deprived of sleep(Edelman). After they finally complete their training, elephants are then worked 20 hours a day, irrespective of if they are injured or sick(Wildlife SOS). In the majority of cases, elephants are worked until they quite literally collapse and die(Wildlife SOS). To add, the act of elephant riding itself is harmful to the elephants. Their spines cannot handle the weight of a person, let alone a heavy chair, and most elephants become disabled during their careers(Edelman). The chairs also can create blisters and sometimes even deep wounds in the elephants’ backs, which then usually become infected due to the lack of medical care the elephants receive(Edelman).

Not only is elephant riding physically painful to the elephants but it is also incredibly psychologically detrimental to them as well. Because elephant breeding is so difficult and adult elephants are too dangerous to perform phajaan on, prospective elephant owners must take baby elephants from the wild(Kretzer). However, because elephant mothers are incredibly protective of their young, they usually must be killed in order to take the baby(Kretzer). As you can imagine, this experience is incredibly traumatic to a baby elephant. Even more, the separation of the baby elephant from its parents, as well as its herd, and keeping it solitary for the rest of its life is also incredibly distressing. This is because in the wild, elephants stay with their mothers for a very long period of time and spend their whole lives in herds. In fact, male elephants will stay with their mothers until they are 16 years old while female elephants will stay with their mothers for their entire lives(Freedom for Animals). Because of the horrible conditions of elephant riding, most elephants who are used for riding are observed displaying repetitive head bobbing, weaving, and swaying, all of which are signs of extreme psychological distress in elephants(Sharma). To add, most of the elephants rescued from their lives of elephant riding have PTSD from these experiences(Kretzer). 

If a practice similar to elephant riding was happening to dogs, most people would be outraged and refuse to partake in it. This is largely because the strong emotional bond between dogs and humans causes us to feel more empathy towards dogs, which causes us to view them as more intelligent and complex than other creatures. However, elephants also have these qualities. They can identify different human languages, use tools, understand human body language, mimic human voices, recognize their friends after a long period of separation, and recognize themselves in a mirror (Baanchang Elephant Park). They mourn their dead, and comfort their babies when they cry (ArapahoeStaff). They even have their own sense of humor(Iacurci). Where do we draw the line with animal cruelty? Is an animal’s pain unimportant just because they are an animal? Do we get to choose which animals to protect and which to disregard simply because we like some more than others? It is clear that elephant riding signs elephants up for a life of mental and physical anguish, and that to support it is to support the destruction of the bodies and minds of elephants. Therefore, to anyone who is planning a trip to a country with elephant riding, please take it off of your itinerary. Though you may not be capturing and abusing elephants yourself, your money is what enables this practice to continue. There are so many more activities you can do, memories that you can make, and better places your money can be directed towards, without contributing to the exploitation of innocent, sentient creatures. 

Works Cited 

ArapahoeStaff August 8. “13 Reminders Why Elephants Are the Best.” Arapahoe Libraries,     Arapahoe Libraries, 22 Aug. 2022, arapahoelibraries.org/blogs/post/15-reasons-why-elephants-are-the-best/#:~:text=They%20are%20highly%20intelligent%20animals,longest%20pregnancy%20of%20any%20mammal.

Edelman, Diana. “Why Elephant Riding Should Be Removed from Your List.” World Nomads, World Nomads, 22 Oct. 2018, worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/why-elephant-riding-should-be-removed-from-your-list#:~:text=But%20the%20truth%20is%2C%20riding,as%20well%20as%20safety%20concerns.

Iacurci, Jenna. “Understanding an Elephant's Playful Side.” Nature World News, Nature Word News , 27 Jan. 2015, natureworldnews.com/articles/12269/20150127/understanding-an-elephants-playful-side.htm.

Kretzer, Michelle. “9 Big Reasons Why Elephant Rides Are Bad for Animals.” PETA, PETA, 27 Nov. 2018, peta.org/blog/9-jumbo-reasons-to-avoid-elephant-rides/.

Marshall, Claire. “Elephant Tourism Is 'Fuelling Cruelty'.” BBC News, BBC, 6 July 2017, bbc.com/news/science-environment-40501667.

Sanctuary, Baanchang elephant park &. “7 Behaviors That Prove Elephants Are Incredibly Smart.” Baanchang Elephant Park , 2017 Baanchang Elephant Park(Elephant Sanctuary Park in Chiang Mai) , 15 Mar. 2017, baanchangelephantpark.com/elephant_post_17#:~:text=Elephants%20are%20exceptionally%20smart%20creatures,capabilities%20time%20and%20time%20again.

Wildlife SOS. “Five Reasons Why You Should Never Ride Elephants If You Love Them!” Wildlife SOS, Wildlife SOS , 18 Sept. 2020, wildlifesos.org/elephant/five-reasons-why-you-should-never-ride-elephants-if-you-love-them/.