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T<\/span>he cruel and harsh reality\u00a0behind elephant back riding in Asia is well documented and the ripple effects of educating the travelling public and raising awareness among the tour operators is slowly starting to pay off.<\/p>\n Despite this growing international move away from the controversial practice of elephant riding, the activity is still widely available in South Africa.\u00a0There seems to be a belief that the training of African elephants does not involve the same kind of cruel practices as those inflicted on its Asian cousin. Although the cruelty may not be quite of the same level compared to Asia, Isabel Wentzel, previously at the NSPCA Wildlife Protection Unit<\/a>, now curator at SAASA<\/a> says “There is no quick, easy or humane way to \u2018train\u2019 elephants to accept humans riding them, nor to \u2018tame\u2019 wild elephants, often forcibly removed from their herds, which in itself is inhumane and unacceptable.”<\/p>\n I am a scientist at heart, so I will examine the facts of what we know about the industry in South Africa. This will hopefully lead to:<\/p>\n Fact<\/strong>: The African elephant (Loxodonta africana<\/em>) is classed as Vulnerable<\/strong> on the IUNC Red List of Threatened Species<\/a>. The elephant population in South Africa is listed in CITES Appendix II<\/a>. The proposal to transfer the Southern African elephant population to Appendix I has again been declined during CITES COP17<\/a>. The move to Appendix I would have made\u00a0commercial international trade in specimens taken from the wild illegal.<\/span><\/p>\n Myth<\/strong>: Captive breeding supports elephant conservation<\/strong><\/em>. The\u00a0IUCN<\/a> does not consider captive breeding as a significant contributor to effective elephant conservation, mostly due to poor breeding success and low life expectancy.<\/p>\n Fact<\/strong>: A report<\/a>\u00a0published in June 2015 by the NSPCA on the welfare status of elephants in captivity in South Africa revealed that we have\u00a026 elephant back safari and sanctuary facilities nationwide, housing a total of approximately 125\u00a0elephants. Just over half\u00a0of these facilities offered elephant back riding at the time this report was published.<\/p>\n Only one establishment,\u00a0Camp Jabulani<\/a> in Hoedspruit, has since announced that from April 2017 they will no longer offer elephant riding to tourists. Well done you guys! Who is to follow\u2026.?<\/p>\n Myth<\/strong>: Elephants in captivity are domesticated<\/strong><\/em>. The fact that elephants are habituated to humans does not mean they are even semi-domesticated. The process of domestication involves the selection of specific characteristics you favour in an animal and breed with those individuals that display these characteristics. This may take many generations and even involves genetic changes over time.<\/p>\n Myth<\/strong>: Elephant interactions are safe\u00a0to both handlers and visitors<\/strong><\/em>. In South Africa, 17 attacks on people by captive\/managed elephants were reported between 2001-15, resulting in six deaths and 11 injuries (NSPCA<\/a>).<\/p>\n Elephant riding offered at The Crags. Picture credit: Elephant Sanctuary<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To make this fact finding mission as objective\u00a0as possible, I will use the\u00a0Five Freedoms Concept <\/strong>that was developed for the welfare of domestic farm animals and is used in animal welfare issues worldwide.\u00a0This concept is also used in the ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines \u2013 Unacceptable and Discouraged Practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the process of breaking the elephant\u2019s spirit (see also Freedom 3), the animal is often deprived of water and food, according to World Animal Protection<\/a>\u00a0(WAP).<\/p>\n Under natural conditions, elephants spend up to 16 hours per day foraging for food, eating a wide variety of vegetation and fruits. The foraging time of\u00a0a captive elephant used for riding is heavily restricted or even absent, making the food and water presentation unnatural and constantly interrupted due to the entertainment programmes for the paying visitors. Their diet is generally limited, consisting of the bare basics with a lack of variety that makes the provision of supplements essential, especially Vitamin E. (NSPCA<\/a>\u00a0& ABTA<\/a>)<\/p>\n The camps where the elephants are kept when not used to ride are unnatural with often unsuitable substrate like concrete that can result in foot problems. The riding takes place at any time of the day, even during the heat of the day, and during which\u00a0the elephants lack places to hide from the public.\u00a0(NSPCA<\/a>)<\/p>\n Obviously, all the issues mentioned below under\u00a0Freedom from pain, injury or disease apply to this section too.<\/p>\n Elephant riding on the Garden Route. Picture credit: Volunteer Expeditions<\/p>\n<\/div>\n First and foremost, young elephants are broken into submission, typically by restraining them with ropes or chains, so they they can only move when instructed. This\u00a0often includes inflicting pain by using bullhooks, wooden battens, and whips\u00a0(WAP<\/a>).\u00a0This training process, based on a system of dominance, can last for weeks until\u00a0the animal More than half of the elephant facilities in South Africa use this\u00a0method called \u2018free contact\u2019, which includes the use of physical punishment by using a bull-hook to train the elephants\u00a0(NSPCA<\/a>)\u00a0and sometimes even electric cattle prods (see pictures below). According to WAP<\/a>, elephant handlers in Southern Africa confirmed that young elephants undergo a similar breaking\u00a0process as used in Asia.<\/p>\n The above pictures are taken on the premises of one of the elephant riding facilities in South Africa and show the excessive use of tools inflicting physical pain on young and juvenile elephants in \u2018training\u2019 and their sustained injuries (source: NSPCA Facebook page<\/a>). The NSPCA laid a case of animal cruelty charges in May 2014, which is still ongoing<\/a>. To put your minds at rest, these elephants are currently free-roaming at a \u2018foster home\u2019 \u2013 a game reserve on the Garden Route.<\/p>\n A fully trained elephant used for elephant back safaris, carries at least one person if not more on its back, either on a blanket or saddle, but often with no padding at all. Although elephants are large and strong animals, they are not built to carry weight on their backs, which can cause pain and potentially spinal injury. Carol Buckley, president of\u00a0Elephant Aid International<\/a>\u00a0explains that \u201cinstead of smooth, round spinal disks, elephants have sharp bony protrusions that extend upwards from their spine. These bony protrusions and the tissue protecting them are vulnerable to weight and pressure coming from above.\u201d<\/p>\n In the wild elephants live in complex, multi-layered,\u00a0matriarchal groups comprising family units of related females and their offspring. Young elephants are often taken away from their mothers and siblings, more often than not captured from the wild, and forced to live in more or less solitary conditions away from their highly social family groups (NSPCA<\/a>).<\/p>\n African elephants in captivity generally are allowed to forage under supervision for some time of the day, but the space available for foraging is insufficient. The nights are spent in confined camps and in many cases the elephants are chained. These unnatural conditions restricts them from forming proper social relationships and forces these naturally nocturnal\u00a0and diurnal creatures to be inactive. (WAP<\/a>)<\/p>\n It is commonplace for male elephants in musth, when they become more difficult to manage, to be chained for long periods of time. The chains can not only physically harm the elephants, but can be psychologically detrimental to these naturally active, inquisitive and intelligent animals. (ABTA<\/a>)<\/p>\n Night camp seen from guest accommodation. Picture credit: Knysna Elephant Park<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The main issues under this heading are the lack of escape from the public and the excessive human handling and human touch (NSPCA<\/a>). Again, most of the issues mentioned under\u00a0Freedom from pain, injury or disease also apply to this section.<\/p>\n Elephant interaction. Picture credit: Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The above facts leave the obvious question:\u00a0what elephant\u00a0encounters are acceptable or ethical and which ones are not<\/strong>? What are the 50 shades of grey (or rather green)\u00a0between black and white? Should we even have shades of grey or green? The answer in my personal opinion is:\u00a0NO, absolutely not!<\/strong><\/p>\n Deciding whether hands-on animal encounters are ethical\u00a0is extremely difficult for anybody, let alone visitors, who don\u2019t necessarily have all the facts. As I\u00a0said\u00a0in my Hands off our Wildlife<\/a> blog, the above message is clear and one-dimensional, making choices for tourists easy when visiting\u00a0wildlife attractions.<\/p>\n I do understand\u00a0that tourism businesses need to generate an income from their wildlife in order to afford looking after those same animals\u00a0properly. However, as clearly stated in ATBA Animal Welfare Guidelines \u2013 Elephants in Captive Environments<\/a>: \u201cthe commercial value of\u00a0keeping and exhibiting\u00a0elephants should never outweigh their welfare<\/strong>\u201c. Although, I personally don\u2019t agree on all aspects and guidelines provided by ABTA, the brochure does give very useful minimum standards and best practice guidelines for keeping elephants in captivity.<\/p>\n Globally, tourism associations are encouraging their members to stop promoting unethical wildlife attractions, such as elephant back rides, and many tour operators have responded by taking elephant riding and shows out of their brochures.\u00a0The tourism products now need to respond accordingly and become more innovative\u00a0in their\u00a0wildlife offerings. Business as usual is no longer adequate nor is it acceptable.<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, the\u00a0Wildlife Conservation Research Unit<\/a>\u00a0at Oxford University audited 24 different wildlife attractions across the world in terms of their welfare standards. One of the worrying findings was that at least 80% of the visitors\u00a0left positive TripAdvisor\u00a0feedback, even for those wildlife attractions with the\u00a0poorest welfare standards, which shows the dire need for more education and awareness raising among tourists. We need to get the message out there that all elephant riding is unacceptable with no exceptions.<\/strong> The only way to enjoy these magnificent creatures is in the wild and from afar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/p>\n![\"five-freedoms-concepts\"](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/five-freedoms-concepts4.png?w=860\")
<\/p>\n1. Freedom from hunger and thirst<\/h5>\n
2. Freedom from discomfort<\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\n3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease<\/h5>\n
\nbecomes submissive and compliant. Once the handler has established dominance, this situation\u00a0is then maintained through a delicate balance of\u00a0fear and reward\u00a0(ABTA<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Breaking](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/breaking-young-elephant-into-submission-2.jpg?w=545&h=410&crop=1\" "\\"breaking-young-elephant-into-submission-2\\"")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"Breaking](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/breaking-young-elephant-into-submission-5.jpg?w=583&h=437&crop=1\" "\\"breaking-young-elephant-into-submission-5\\"")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n4. Freedom to express normal\/appropriate behaviour<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\n![\"elephant-night-camp\"](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/elephant-night-camp.jpg?w=860\")
<\/p>\n5. Freedom from fear and distress<\/h5>\n
\n![\"inkwenkwezi-private-game-reserve-elephant-interactions-590x390\"](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/inkwenkwezi-private-game-reserve-elephant-interactions-590x390.jpg?w=860\")
<\/p>\nA\u00a0way forward<\/strong><\/h5>\n
![\"HandsOffOur](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/03\/handsoffour-wildlife.png?w=860\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"elephants-at-waterhole\"](\"https:\/\/greengirlsinafrica.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/elephants-at-waterhole.jpg?w=860\")
<\/h5>\nClick below to take the pledge and join the movement to help protecting animals from cruelty<\/h5>\n
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