EXCLUSIVE – Cruel humbling of nature’s gentlest giants: Elephants show signs of trauma as they are stabbed with hooks or nails and left with their legs chained together in undercover footage from Thai tourist attractions
- Organisation Lady Freethinker conducted the investigation in August and found animal abuse
- Elephants hit with bull hooks and stabbed with nails as well as being chained, often standing in their waste
- The animals are seen swaying, bobbing and pacing in much of the footage, clearly distressed
- They are forced to perform tricks including standing up on their hooves for audiences at the attractions
Shocking undercover footage has revealed elephants showing signs of trauma as they are stabbed with hooks or nails and left with their legs chained together at Thai tourist attractions.
The organisation Lady Freethinker (LFT), based in Los Angeles, conducted the investigation in August 2022.
Footage taken by one of their investigators shows animal abuse and mistreatment at each of the centres.
The elephants are at the mercy of workers at the tourist attractions, who are seen carrying bull hooks.
LFT’s investigation discovered that the animals were visibly distressed and displaying signs of zoochosis, a behaviour found in animals in captivity.
They were swaying, bobbing and pacing in much of the footage while another elephant had a wound on her cheek and a tear stain underneath her eye.
The organisation Lady Freethinker (LFT) , based in Los Angeles, conducted the investigation in August 2022. Pictured: Some of the chained elephants at one of the tourist attractions
In the footage, music plays as three elephants appear to move in a line of three, with two standing up on their hooves with their hooves as they perform ‘tricks’ for an audience
Another part of the footage showed an elephant in a water tank who was photographed by tourists
Also in the video, a baby elephant called Saan Suay was seen meeting a tourist and grabbed their shirt by her trunk.
As punishment, one of the workers at the centre smacked her with a bull hook handle twice.
The calf was seen backing away after the incident. Later, Saan Suay had a nail jabbed into her side multiple times and was seen swaying from side to side.
Saan Suay was born at Khao Kheow Zoo months ago and seen tucking into her favourite fruit and vegetables in front of news cameras along with eight other elephants.
But LFT’s investigation has revealed a shocking reality behind the scenes, where elephants are also kept on short and heavy chains and cannot move.
An elephant at one of the tourist attractions is seen chained up behind a fence. The mistreatment was uncovered by LFT
The investigator also took a photograph of one of the nails used by the workers at the tourist attractions to stab the elephants
An elephant is seen with chains around their neck as they stand in one of the tourist attractions in Thailand that was found to mistreat them
They often have their legs chained together on concrete slabs or standing in their own waste.
And a mother and child were seen chained together at one of the tourist attractions, with the baby feeding.
Also at the tourist attractions, elephants perform tricks for loud and large audiences.
In the footage, music plays as three elephants appear to move in a line of three, with two standing up on their hooves.
Another trick shows an elephant moving a hula hoop around their trunk as a child stands on a chair next to them.
Pictured: A man holds a nail used to stab elephants at one of the eight tourist attractions visited by the LFT during their investigation
Pictured: Chains around an elephant’s hooves at one of the tourist attractions in Thailand. The elephants were visibly distressed
Pictured: Two elephants are seen chained together at the tourist attraction, in the investigation conducted by LFT
Pictured: A man holds onto a bull hook as he rides an elephant at one of the tourist attractions in Thailand
Another elephant had a wound on her cheek and a tear stain underneath her eye (pictured)
Chained elephants are seen standing in their own waste at one of the tourist attractions in Thailand (pictured)
Pictured: Elephants chained to the spot stand in their own waste in Thailand. They are unable to move either way as they are chained up
Also, elephants clad in costumes are seen in formation as men stand and sit on their backs and another sits with their trunk curled
Also, elephants clad in costumes are seen in formation as men stand and sit on their backs and another sits with their trunk curled.
And in another piece of footage, an elephant is seen in a water tank as tourists take photographs of it.
Lady Freethinker President and Founder Nina Jackel said: ‘To stab, chain, and exploit these animals is a disgrace to dignified elephants, who are known to show empathy for others, mourn their loved ones, and can distinguish languages,’
‘LFT is calling on authorities in Thailand to investigate these facilities immediately and relocate the abused animals to reputable sanctuaries where they can live as elephants should.’
The organisation has started a petition against the chaining and mistreatment of elephants in Thailand.
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