Design script – Tamanna

Introduction: Did you know that elephants are considered to be the national animal of Thailand? Elephants are very important in Thailand, as they have helped the country during the wars in the past. The Asian elephant has many special qualities that make them unique. They are very intelligent and smart, they have high and sharp memory and they are very quick learners.

How and Why People Take Advantage of the Elephant: But…Because the Asian elephant has all these special qualities, they are often misused and taken out from their habitat for human use. People take advantage of the elephants and train them to feature in elephant shows and organize elephant back riding tours for tourist entertainment so that the elephant trainers can earn money for themselves.

Threats and Dangers (Phajaan/Crush):However, all elephants used for entertainment are under several threats and are treated harmfully. A baby elephant will be poached from their mother when they are between 2-4 years old and then will go through the traditional ‘crush’ known as the phajaan. This process requires the elephant to be tied up and to be put into a very small cage where they can barely move. They will be beaten, starved and sleep deprived until they obey human orders. All elephants that are used in the tourist industry will have gone through the crush to ensure they are ‘safe for human use’.

Elephant use for Ivory: Not only are elephant are they used for entertainment; the tusks of male elephants are very valuable due to the illegal ivory trade which means they are also under threat of poachers. The elephant tusk is also used to create products that are available in many souvenir shops. Since the elephant tusk is very valuable they are often used to create jewelry and showpieces that tourists can buy so that the elephant poachers can earn a living.

Introduction into SEF: Today in Thailand there are 2000 captive elephants and only around 1000 left in the wild. The elephant foundation is a non-profit organization in Chiang Mai that aims to protect elephants and that helps elephants to return to their habitat so that they can repopulate and develop the numbers of elephants in Thailand.

SEF’s Projects: Some projects of this organization are:

ENP: A sanctuary that helps take care of elephants that have been mistreated by tourism and other different ways.

The Surin Project: Where volunteers can go on daily walks and watch elephants be themselves naturally.

Journey to Freedom: To show people that elephants can help be a source of income without being taken advantage of to feature in shows etc.

Pamper a Pachyderm: Where visitors spend time at a camp to learn about elephants and to observe the natural side of elephants.

The Public’s Help:However, the public has also joined hands with the organization and helped the organization in many different ways. The public contacts the organization through a hotline (their phone number) if they witness any misuse of elephants, they spread the word around the world and in their community to raise awareness on this topic, they educate young adults and people about how to not support and attend animal shows and they contribute to the organization by donating to help support the elephants.

Responsible Tourism: So…what can you do?The Asian elephants need your support. To help create a difference and save these poor innocent animals you can visit and volunteer at the save elephant foundation and participate in their projects. You can spread the word and raise awareness to your local community and people surrounding you on how they can help and not support elephants shows/ivory products. You can help by not attending shows, not only elephant shows but any animal shows and stop buying products made out of ivory as the use of animal for entertainment is cruel. And remember the poaching will only stop when the demand for elephant shows, rides and ivory stops.

So lets join hands and make a difference! – No words

M ore information: no script only writing