Activists Calling For Total Ban Of Elephant Trafficking From China, Dubai, And Thailand

It's hard to believe that Thailand has a burgeoning underground elephant trade, but this is what activists have recently revealed. They have also started to call for stricter measures concerning the prosecution of people involved in this illegal trade. There have been cases of illegal animal trafficking in Thailand, Dubai, and also China.

This was revealed after an investigator unearthed cases of young elephants being brought across the borders of these countries illegally. In the case of China, the elephants are being brought over from Laos and moved across the border to be flown to the Middle East. Independent UK says that each elephant brings up to $295,040.12 in illegal trade profit.

Karl Amman, the filmmaker, was instrumental in bringing this trade to light. It was filmed in his documentary; the investigative filmmaker managed to trace the locations where the elephants were being sold to. Primarily, these animals end up in zoos, circuses, and other places like 'safari parks' where they suffer sub-standard living conditions, all for the price of an admission ticket.

The same situation is happening in Thailand, where the elephants are being brought in from neighboring country Myanmar. It's not enough that they are forcibly taken from their natural habitat-these animals endure freakish torture, aside from inhumane conditions. These, according to the investigation, were meant to break the animals as well as lower their spirit to make them more 'obedient' to commands.

These young elephants, when moved from their habitats, are taken forcibly from their mothers. Sydney Morning Herald reveals the harrowing manner in which these calves are brought up; they are given to foster mothers. The problem is that it has a low success rate; these adult female elephants may or may not accept the child as their own. In most cases, the calf is tethered to its surrogate mother using a chain or a rope.

The capture of these baby elephants is even more harrowing. Poachers, without a care for the familial bond these creatures have in the wild, will take the calves by any means necessary. What this means is that these infants can be removed from their parents through the elimination of the mother, lowering the numbers of elephants to an even more dangerous level.

In the part of UK, they are lobbying for a law that bans any tour package involving places that may have these captive elephants. It's not only for the tourists' safety-it's also to stop the promotion of this cruel trade.

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Dozens of Laotian Elephants ‘Illegally Sold to Chinese Zoos,’ Says Wildlife Investigator

According to Ammann, so-called captive elephants in Laos sell for about £23,000 before being walked across the border into China by handlers or “mahouts” near the border town of Boten. Thereafter they are transported to receiving facilities, which buy them from the agents for up to £230,000 per animal. “That is a nice mark-up,” says Ammann, “and makes it exactly the kind of commercial transaction which under CITES rules is not acceptable.”

Ammann and his crew stumbled on the illicit trade between Laos and China earlier this year, while investigating the sale of 16 Asian elephants from Laos to a safari park in Dubai. None of the elephants had the necessary permits for export. The translocation was stopped by a direct order from the new Laotian prime minister at the last moment, while an Emirates Airlines Cargo 747 was already on the tarmac in Vientiane, the country’s capital.

“We then looked into the background of these elephants and met with several of the owners of the elephants, as well as the local agent who arranged this sale,” explains Ammann. Delving deeper, he and his investigative team discovered that the trade in live elephants from Laos mainly involved China, with almost 100 animals ending up in Chinese zoos and facilities.

Many mahouts told Ammann on camera that their elephants are captive-bred but have been sired by a wild bull elephant. To avoid stud costs, mahouts in Laos tie captive-bred females to trees in the forest so that they can be mated with wild bulls. Under Cites Appendix I, an elephant with a wild parent in an uncontrolled setting is not considered captive-bred and therefore may not be sold commercially.

Almost 100 Asian elephants are believed to have been sold from Laos to China over the past couple of years. Chunmei Hu, an animal welfare advocate in China, says she has already established that six zoos — all government-owned — have a confirmed 38 elephants from Laos, with 50 more likely to be Laotian. But the trade in live Asian elephants contravenes international regulations. Like African elephants, Asian elephants are considered a species threatened with extinction. All international trade is prohibited by the Convention in the Trade of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) unless it is not for commercial purposes, or unless the elephants originate from a Cites-approved facility of captive-bred animals.

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Dozens of Laotian elephants 'illegally sold to Chinese zoos'

Dozens of elephants from Laos are being illegally bought by China to be displayed in zoos and safari parks across the country, according to wildlife investigator and film-maker Karl Ammann.

According to Ammann, so-called captive elephants in Laos sell for about £23,000 before being walked across the border into China by handlers or “mahouts” near the border town of Boten. Thereafter they are transported to receiving facilities, which buy them from the agents for up to £230,000 per animal. “That is a nice mark-up,” says Ammann, “and makes it exactly the kind of commercial transaction which under Cites rules is not acceptable.”

Ammann and his crew stumbled on the illicit trade between Laos and China earlier this year, while investigating the sale of 16 Asian elephants from Laos to a safari park in Dubai. None of the elephants had the necessary permits for export. The translocation was stopped by a direct order from the new Laotian prime minister at the last moment, while an Emirates Airlines Cargo 747 was already on the tarmac in Vientiane, the country’s capital.

“We then looked into the background of these elephants and met with several of the owners of the elephants, as well as the local agent who arranged this sale,” explains Ammann. Delving deeper, he and his investigative team discovered that the trade in live elephants from Laos mainly involved China, with almost 100 animals ending up in Chinese zoos and facilities.

Many mahouts told Ammann on camera that their elephants are captive-bred but have been sired by a wild bull elephant. To avoid stud costs, mahouts in Laos tie captive-bred females to trees in the forest so that they can be mated with wild bulls. Under Cites Appendix I, an elephant with a wild parent in an uncontrolled setting is not considered captive-bred and therefore may not be sold commercially.

To read the full article, click on the story title