Corporate Social Responsibility in Thailand & Cambodia
Elephants. When you think of Thailand, these large creatures most likely come to mind. Thus, it was inevitable for me to encounter them during my time abroad. In fact, I had three distinct experiences with elephants that left me with varying emotions.
Rose Colored Glasses
The first was certainly the most rewarding of them all. We arrived at the elephant home nervous and unsure of what to expect.
What if this place abused the elephants? If they do, how should we react?
However, they promptly informed us that we would be working to spoil the elephants that day. And the first step? Prepare their vitamin packs. We all were put to work, mashing bananas, tamarind, brown sugar, and various other ingredients together and wrapping portions of the mixture in banana leaves. As we worked, the elephant educator explained the benefits these ingredients gave the elephants, as well as about their main diet. We learned the mahouts who looked after the elephants and the names of each animal at the sanctuary, Big Mama who was approaching the end of her two-year long pregnancy and Naughty Boy who love stealing extra portions of food, among several others. Most importantly, we learned the rules we had to abide by during our time there.
NO RIDING
DO NOT TEASE THE ELEPHANTS
DO NOT RUN TOWARDS THEM
TREAT THEM ALL EQUALLY (they don’t appreciate favoritism)
WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK THE MAHOUT
Finally, we were allowed to meet the elephants. Armed with our homemade vitamin packs in one hand and a small basket of sugar cane and bananas in the other, we carefully approached. Naughty Boy, who was just an infant about half the size of the rest, ran around between our group trying to snatch as much food as possible from us. Remembering the rules, we tried to distribute the food evenly, but Naughty Boy would take advantage of even a moment of distraction to sneak his trunk into our baskets. When we ran out of food, we were sent to bring more for them.
Soon it was time to give them a mud bath to help them cool down. A few of the elephants filed into a pool of mud and laid down. We were instructed to massage the mud on their backs, avoiding their face and ears. Then, after they were thorough covered in mud, we headed to the river to help them rinse it all off. Fun Fact: elephants frequently like to spray water on themselves! Needless to say, we all ended up completely soaked.
Afterwards, lunch was served overlooking where the elephants wandered about and continued to eat. We watched in amusement as Naughty Boy snuck his way towards us and attempted to steal more bananas from unattended baskets. A vigilant mahout eventually spotted him and shooed away.
None of the elephants were chained, and at no point did any of the mahouts point sharp objects at them. They roamed freely and it was clear that they had a close bond with their mahouts. We had seen a mahout resting underneath his elephant’s belly as he ate. Despite the fact that one wrong move from this several-ton elephant could kill the man, there was no fear. The elephant also showed no sign of discomfort from the mahout’s close proximity. Rather, both parties trusted one another and felt comfortable in each other’s presence. Witnessing the immense amount of care all the elephants received, we all left feeling relieved and fulfilled.
Unfurling Skepticism
My second experience was the most educational, but it also felt very emotionally detached. I found myself constantly comparing this place to the previous sanctuary we had visited. We drove up a long dirt road and saw a large enclosure with a few enrichment activities scattered about. Three elephants stood closely together under a small gated covered area. With all that space in the enclosure, this really stood out to me.
The guide of this visit led us up to an observation deck where she proceeded to teach us about elephants and this sanctuary. She explained the differences between elephants, the history and current state of elephant tourism in Thailand, among other topics. This sanctuary itself had many elephants on their grounds, though only three in this enclosure today.
At this sanctuary, only the mahout and researchers are allowed to interact with the animals in order to keep their lifestyles as similar to those of wild elephants as possible. In fact, the reason why the elephants were being briefly kept in that small space was because a research experiment was taking place that day. This particular experiment was exploring the cognitive abilities of elephants. As it turns out, there are many such research projects, led by professionals and students, that are conducted here.
It was explained that the enrichment tools are essential to keep the elephants exercising their brains. They stuff food into tires or barrels with various levels of difficulty for the elephants to retrieve their snacks. This is supposed to simulate foraging for food in the wild, though I couldn’t help but recall the dog toys I had once bought to keep my dogs entertained. The elephants were let out after a while and they began to play with the enrichment tools. They pulled out the bananas and sugarcanes that were hidden inside bit by bit. As I was distracted watching as two of the elephants tried to claim to the same tire, a new topic of debate came up. The guide started by mentioning that there were couples among their elephants, but they were not permitted to breed. Thus, the males and females were kept separate from one another.
Why not?
It’s unethical.
How so? Isn’t that their natural right?
It seemed that the guide alluded to minimizing the number of captive elephants being born, but the response was cut short over when we were once again distracted by one of the elephants approach the observation deck. She had stretched her trunk towards the corner of the deck as if searching for something. The guide explained that there is a resort owned by their company just a couple minutes’ drive away, so many guests come to the observation deck to have dinner. Sometimes, these guests would feed the elephants and so they knew to come and wait nearby.
When our group left, someone mentioned that the experience felt like a show. It felt like they select a few elephants to put on display for a while. Undoubtedly, giving these animals as natural a life as possible away from human interaction is logically and ethically sound. However, most of the group had the sense that the attempt to create a more ‘natural’ environment was flawed in various ways.
These elephants weren’t wild elephants and this place wasn’t the wild. They were captive elephants that were still fenced in and living in artificial situations. It felt like their goal simply wasn’t being achieved and it seemed like a farce on some level.
I begin to wonder if my discomfort with this particular situation was related to the disappointed tourist in me. In the previous sanctuary, I felt that the animals at the previous sanctuary were being treated very well and with a lot of respect. Also, it felt like we actually did something that day to help. However, I now wondered if my enjoyment I found in that experience was affecting my view on how ethical it was. Perhaps, it was easier for me to critique this new experience because it wasn’t ‘fun’. This realization made me very frustrated with myself. Ultimately what matters is the quality of life of the elephants, not how a tourist feels.
Even knowing this, even though there was nothing in particular that I could say that they were doing wrong, this place felt somewhat forced and cold to me. I could not find out the extent of my bias no matter how hard I tried and I could not figure out how to separate that part of me in order to properly evaluate these two experiences. I was left with questions.
What is the best way?
One or the other?
Both together?
Neither?
Rock Bottom
The last experience took place in Cambodia, not Thailand. It was both unexpected and by far the most disheartening of the three. On the way to visit the ruins of a Buddhist temple, our tuk tuk drivers stopped by a rest area of sorts to let us use the restroom. However, right there along the side of the road was an elephant equipped with a saddle and a mahout riding atop with a pointed stick in hand. There was a chain around the elephant’s leg and a rope looped through each of the elephant’s ears so the mahout could tug on them easily. A tourist couple was feeding the animal coconuts. The man went first and put the coconut in the elephant’s mouth. It was promptly smashed into pieces and the water from inside sprayed all about. When it was the woman’s turn, she seemed nervous about doing the same. Every time the elephant would reach for it, she would pull back and drop it at his feet. This happened over and over again while the woman was squealing and giggling the whole time. The students in our group watched this scene in dismay. On the other hand, the tourists interacting with them seemed completely oblivious to our frustration.
You’re not supposed tease the elephant!
Oh, just give it to him already!
We whispered amongst ourselves the words we lacked the nerve to say to their faces. Our tuk tuk drivers noticed our gaze and perhaps thought we wanted to join in. One excitedly said we could ride the elephant if we wanted, but a student immediately replied with a firm no.
No riding.
It was hard to watch the scene play out, to the point of becoming unbearable. Several of us looked away in shame. Ashamed of our helplessness, our lack of courage to speak up, and of being tourists just like that couple. Soon, we drove off and the elephant faded into the distance. However, I doubt the memory of the dead look in that elephant’s eyes will fade anytime soon.
Reflection
I was left with very different emotions following each of these experiences. The fact of the matter is, elephants are often taken advantage of for the sole purpose of tourism. My last encounter with elephants further plunged me into a path of doubt. Was my first experience truly enriching? Or was it just a self-satisfying experience where the elephants received no benefit? Were we just tourists taking advantage of these animals?
Whatever the answers may be, it is true that the global standard is slowly starting to shift towards protecting these creatures and educating people about them. Is it fast enough though? My instinct told me no. Certainly we could do much better! I’m sure many in our program agreed with this sentiment. Then, we had a speaker present to us and this very topic. He stated simply that of course we could do better, but at what cost?
Good intentions don’t always take into consideration the consequences.
There’s a village in the mountains of Thailand with thirty elephants who once based all their livelihood on elephant riding. However, most tourists nowadays refuse to take part in such activities. Changes in policy and social sentiment have moved towards a good goal, but now an entire village cannot support itself. When the laws change, does the government help people make the necessary transitions? What will happen to the elephants when the villagers can no longer afford to feed them and then set them free? Captive elephants simply aren’t equipped with skill set to survive in the wild. Then, when they wander towards people and farms they are killed in retaliation for ruined crops.
Our speaker explained that sudden change without the necessary support only creates another set of problems. It’s not as easy as just changing a law, but rather it takes many parties working together to make progress. When all those involved can collaborate more efficiently, we can take greater strides towards progress.
Despite the obstacles that this issue is faced with, elephant tourism is a far cry from what it once was. The approaches may differ, but the general goal is heading in the same direction. I remembered one thought the guide from my second experience brought up. The ‘right way’ to deal with captive elephants is still a work in progress. The most acceptable approach changes all the time as people learn more and as public sentiment fluctuates.
In the end, there are many who are striving to make progress. Even though the path ahead may not be clear, when you look back you can see how far you have already come. Hopefully, despite occasionally walking in circles or taking the wrong turn, we will stubbornly trudge on. Then one day, we might finally reach the place we hope to be.
Reyna Garduno, Early Fall 2019
