More than 3,000 elephants are used as entertainers across Asia. You can help end elephants’ suffering by demanding that the tourism industry change for the better.
Across Asia, 3,000+ elephants are used and abused to entertain tourists and visitors.
Captive elephants endure physical and psychological suffering to make them submissive enough to be used for performing, riding and bathing.
The demand from tourists and visitors drives the demand for elephant experiences, and trainers are forced to deploy cruel methods to control these wild animals.
You can help by committing not to ride an elephant on your next overseas holiday. You’ll also help us convince travel companies and tour operators that elephant cruelty is no longer profitable.
Lifetime of horror
This undercover video exposes the hidden reality of the physical and psychological trauma of elephant training for tourist entertainment.
It is a lifetime of horror for a ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday experience.
Every elephant used for tourism is subjected to this brutal training process known as “the crush”.
To break their spirit, they are torn from their mothers, isolated, chained, starved and beaten until they are submissive for tourists.
You can stand up for elephants by taking our elephant-friendly pledge and demand for cruel elephant attractions a thing of the past.
A better life for elephants is possible
With your support we are showing the travel industry there is a different way. By raising awareness about the hidden cruelty behind elephant rides and shows, we are helping people make informed choices and putting pressure on the travel industry to rebuild for the better.
The good news is that globally the elephant-friendly movement is growing with more than 250 travel companies having committed to stop selling tickets to elephant rides and shows before the pandemic.
For most captive elephants, being released back into the wild is not possible, so an elephant-friendly venue is their best option. Elephants are given the freedom to roam, graze and bathe while socialising, rather than being used for strenuous rides, kept in chains during the day and exposed to the sun all day.
Together, with some of the world’s most influential travel companies, our supporters have helped us worked to transition two venues in Thailand to become elephant-friendly attractions. This has shown that there is an elephant-friendly way to be commercially viable for elephant camp owners, encouraging them to value and care for their animals. An elephant-friendly venue allows observational activities only with no direct interaction between humans and elephants.
Together, we can work towards a better world and towards giving elephants lives worth living. Elephants don’t belong to us; they belong in the wild.
Donate to protect elephants
You can help give elephants the chance to live out their lives in a calm, peaceful environment.
Elephant rides
Today, more than 3,000 elephants are being used and abused to entertain tourists and visitors across Asia.
Elephant facts
Did you know that elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild, however their lifespan in captivity is generally shorter?