Dr. Jane Goodall Urges Immediate Aid For Thailand’s Starving Captive Elephants
“I hate to think of the suffering of these noble, gentle animals —
the thought of their pain is horrible.” - Dr. Jane Goodall
In March 2020, Thailand shut its doors to tourism in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. An action that forced over 3,500 elephants “employed” in the industry into 24-hour leg and neck chains and certain starvation. Now, almost 15 months later, the surviving elephants are near total starvation, still in leg chains and another day closer to death.
245 tourist elephant “camps” existed in Thailand in 2020, providing rides and circus style demeaning performances with captive elephants. While there has been a massive, ongoing international campaign by animal welfare groups to phase out these exploitative activities, the abrupt, long-term loss of tourist revenue has left camp operators and elephant owners as abandoned as the animals themselves.
One year ago, Save Elephant Foundation, with the financial support of Trunks Up, courageously stepped up with an emergency food purchasing and distribution campaign to help support 223 camps, aiding 1,826 elephants and 1,600 elephant keepers. Without any assistance from the Thai Government, their resources were depleted within months.
With the leadership of Dr. Jane Goodall and in collaboration with Save Elephant Foundation Founder Lek Chailert, we are launching the FOODBANK : BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL feed campaign to provide emergency funds to purchase and distribute locally grown food to as many remaining elephant camps as possible.
The campaign’s goal is to bring immediate relief to these starving elephants through international attention to the tragic plight of these exploited animals.
"The captive elephants of Thailand have so little time left. Already, many are falling down and dying while in chains. This requires a dire effort and a compassionate response from all those who love the elephant.” -Lek Chailert, Founder of Save Elephant Foundation and Elephant Nature Park
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ABOUT US:
Lek Chailert is a world renowned conservationist and founder of Save Elephant Foundation and Elephant Nature Park. Working on the frontlines of elephant conservation for decades, Lek is leading the efforts in bringing awareness and refuge to the enslaved elephants of the tourist industry. Lek and her team rescue and provide retirement for elephants at the hands off sanctuary, and provide education and interventions for humane elephant management across Thailand. The Covid-19 crisis has exponentially increased their workload as they race to raise funds to keep up with the demand for the feeding and care of elephants facing dire conditions.
Trunks Up is a dedicated branch of the Abraham Foundation, a certified 501(c)(3) organization leading global awareness and fundraising efforts for Save Elephant Foundation and its founder Lek Chailert.
