Get this off your bucket list now

According to his rescuers, Raju the elephant was reduced to tears when his chains were removed during a daring rescue by Indian charity Wildlife SOS.

WARNING: Disturbing content

"LOOKS like fun!"

"Big deal."

When a hotel in Thailand posted images on its Facebook page showing drunk revellers riding a baby elephant near the pool this week, it was flooded with criticism. However, some baffled news.com.au readers wondered what all the fuss was about.

Because riding elephants is a popular tourist activity carried out around the world, and it's super-fun and harmless, right?

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT BELOW

One of the photos that sparked controversy. Source: Facebook

Wrong. The simple fact is that many people don't realise the extent of the suffering these majestic animals endure, all for our entertainment.

Torture. Murder. Emotional distress. Starvation. Overwork. This is the tragic reality for many.

Sceptical? Earlier this month an elephant which had been carrying tourists on sightseeing trips for years in Vietnam died of overwork. And it's not the first time — in the same area in January another "tamed" elephant was found dead, reportedly also from exhaustion. There were even more deaths last year.

And it's just the tip of the iceberg. The brutal reality is the tourism industry is fuelling the problem, and every single one of us can either help, or worsen the situation. So news.com.au has spoken to high-profile elephant rights activists and companies to shed light on one of tourism's darkest sides.

GEOFF MANCHESTER, INTREPID TRAVEL

Intrepid is one travel company that has questioned the ethics of riding elephants for entertainment, and announced its refusal to take part in such acts last May. Geoff, the co-founder of the company, explains why.

"Elephants are amazing animals and we know they are much loved by travellers. Historically, elephants were used for logging and transport and in more recent years a whole industry has developed around tour operators offering travellers an elephant 'experience' — this can include anything from riding an elephant to watching them do circus tricks.

Intrepid was one of these companies, and we had become increasingly uncomfortable with the activities on offer (so we decided to) support research conducted by World Animal Protection to assess these wildlife entertainment venues. Sadly, we learnt that an elephant's welfare is very much compromised at these venues.

Some elephants go through a lot of suffering. Source: News Limited

Elephants are extremely intelligent animals, with complex social structures. They are the only animals apart from humans who are known to grieve. Through the course of the research we learnt that elephants undergo a cruel and painful process to be 'broken' so they can accept human control and be trained to perform.

A Thai elephant master uses a stick with a curved spike on the end to control them. Source: Getty Images

Often, they are housed in poor conditions in captivity and at elephant camps — they are chained up so they have very limited movement, they have a limited diet, are isolated from other elephants, they are exposed to extreme heat and sunlight with little shade and have little to no veterinary care. Travellers don't often see all of this.

Asian elephants are also highly endangered in the wild — there are an estimated 30,000-52,000 in the wild with about 15,000 in captivity. There has been a rapid decline in numbers, and it is estimated that Asian elephants could become extinct within three generations.

Elephants continue to be poached from the wild and bred in captivity to meet tourist demand, which contributes to this problem.

Sadly, they are often chained up for long periods of time. Source: Getty Images

Some people try to compare elephants in captivity to horses or dogs, but this is incorrect because elephants are not domesticated like these animals. Domestication is done through selective breeding over at least 10 generations of an animal — this has never been done to elephants.

You cannot domesticate an individual animal during its lifespan. So, even elephants bred in captivity are not domesticated. They are wild animals.

Please stop riding the elephants. Source: Supplied

CAROL BUCKLEY, ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL

Carol, 61, is the founder of ElephantAid.org, a globally recognised authority in the rescue, treatment, rehabilitation and humane management of captive-held elephants. She's also the co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, US, where she lives.

Carol Buckley has long been fighting for elephant rights. Picture: Carol Buckley Source: Supplied

"The brutal methods used to control these elephants and provide entertainment goes unregulated. The elephants are nothing more than living props, revenue generators. The entertainment they provide is similar to a mechanical bucking bull in a bar or merry-go-round at a carnival.

The difference is that these elephants are living, breathing, wild animals.

"Asian elephants are an endangered species, to use them in this manner is unethical, immoral and according to CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), illegal.

"Elephants used for tourism are prematurely separated from their mother and trained brutally at a very young age; 1-3 years old. This training leaves them traumatised — many suffer from the mental anguish of post traumatic post disorder their entire lives.

An elephant pit trap in Myanmar, used to capture the young. Picture: Traffic.org Source: Supplied

"What's more, elephants are not physically designed to carry weight on their back. Their spine is injured from the seat that is strapped onto their spine. I've seen deep, infected saddle wounds the length and depth of your forearm."

THE ELEPHANT FAMILY

The Elephant Family is a charity campaigning for elephant rights, particularly in Asia. They have published this account on their website:

"Right now our campaigns team is lobbying the Thai government to stop the illegal trade ... For every wild caught calf that makes it alive into a camp, it is estimated that up to two others will die from the 'domestication' process, and as many as five others are killed during the capture.

It is estimated that anywhere between 50-100 calves and young females are being traded across the Thai-Myanmar (Burma) border each year, to supply tourist camps.

With the rapid growth of tourism and demand for Asian elephants in entertainment, there are strong incentives to illegally capture and trade live individuals taken from the wild.

A new report released by Elephant Family and TRAFFIC reveals this despicable trade is so widespread; it's now posing a serious threat to entire wild populations."

RESPONSIBLETRAVEL.COM

A UK-based tour company focused on responsible travel — treating the local people and animals well while on holiday — it went into disturbing detail about how the animals are "broken in" on its website:

"During a horrific ritual, the young elephant is kept in a cage for several days and tied to prevent it from moving. It may be deprived of food, water or sleep, and beaten, burned and stabbed to literally beat it into submission. Almost all captive elephants across Asia have endured some kind of breaking in process, and a newly broken in baby elephant can be worth thousands of dollars. This is a lucrative business.

"Ironically, in Thailand, wild elephants are protected — yet their captive cousins have no laws protecting them at all. There are no welfare standards that elephant camps and sanctuaries have to adhere to, and no criteria for riding. This means they can be ridden all day, chained all day, they can carry as many tourists will fit on their back, and they can be hit with bull hooks to control them. In extreme cases, they may also be given amphetamines to suppress their huge appetites and make them work longer hours."

SO HOW CAN WE HELP END THEIR SUFFERING?

Carol: "Take elephant riding, selfies, feeding and bathing off your bucket list. Respect this endangered species by spending your tourist dollars to get them off chains and into reputable sanctuaries with healthy welfare standards. Riding an elephant satisfies a bucket list but experiencing an elephant in its natural environment, free of a dominating mahout (a person who rides one), is life-changing."

Geoff: "In Thailand, Intrepid Travel takes travellers to Elephant Nature Park, a rescue centre and sanctuary for elephants that have previously been abused, and Friends of the Asian Elephant, which is a hospital for elephants. You'll have the chance to learn more about the issues of elephants in tourism at these venues.

"We can all do more to help protect elephants from cruelty. Raising awareness of these issues and being an animal friendly traveller when on holiday are simple ways in which everyone can help."

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