The illegal trade of elephants in Thailand is rife, and there is little the Thai authorities are doing about it.
Many captive elephants used in the Thai tourist and entertainment trade are victims of an illegal market that threatens the survival of Asian elephants. With unchecked forest clearance, poaching for ivory and illegal capture of wild, often infant elephants, their numbers are reducing at an unsustainable pace.
The problem lies with the fact that domesticated elephants are considered ‘livestock’ which makes it perfectly legal to trade them throughout Thailand. It is apparently very easy to forge the required documentation to show that an elephant was captive-bred and not caught in the wild. The Thai government are not rigorous when it comes to registration documentation and can succumb to bribery.
Wild elephants are protected under the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act of 1992, prohibiting their capture or killing without ‘official permission from the government’. However, domesticated elephants are protected under the Draught Animal Act of 1939, and under this act it is perfectly legal to trade the animals and exploit them for the sale of ivory.
Another loophole in Thailand’s laws is that domesticated elephants do not have to be registered until they are eight years old. This means that untold numbers of baby elephants stolen from the wild are virtually undetectable - and there are elephant camps in Thailand that serve as accomplices and cover these activities.
The demand for elephants for entertainment purposes is not only a problem within Thailand, but also with their exportation. In 2006, doubts were raised over the origin of nine Asian elephants that were exported to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, with suggestions that up to 4 or 5 could have been illegally captured from the wild. A disproportionate number of elephants exported from Thailand go to China and Japan for use in entertainment and zoos.
A recent study by TRAFFIC highlighted several key areas that need to be addressed to protect the welfare of these creatures.
Thailand’s national live elephant trade has nothing in place to distinguish captive-bred elephants from wild-caught elephants. The growth of the eco-tourism industry and entertainment parks provide sufficient motivation for traders to kidnap wild baby elephants and forge captive-bred documentation.
Waiting until an elephant is eight years old before registration provides cover for wild-caught young elephants. There is also nothing in place to record pregnant females or elephant births.
The current use of “bodily markings” to identify elephants for registration purposes is outdated. Microchips should be used.
Following the study, TRAFFIC made recommendations in hopes of closing the loopholes that are currently serving to benefit poachers, rather than protect the elephants. They specifically relate to the commercialisation of ivory, elephant identification, registration and monitoring.
They also believe that the monitoring of new laws must be overseen by an entity other than the Thai government if there is to be any hope in protecting these intelligent and sensitive animals.
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