Elephant tourism industry received criticism amid tourist’s death.
As per BBC, Thai police have charged a mahout (elephant keeper) after an elephant under his care killed a Spanish tourist, Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, last week.
According to Thai authorities, Theerayut Inthaphudkij was charged with negligence which caused the 22-year-old’s death.
Garcia was bathing the elephant when she was shoved, which caused injures on her head.
The death of a foreign citizen raised concerns over Thailand’s flourishing elephant tourism industry, which has received criticism by animal rights group for being unethical and dangerous.
Many activists have called for the removal of bathing and similar interaction with the animals as it disturbs natural grooming behaviour and could cause possible injuries.
After the attack, experts shared that the elephant, who was identified as a 45-year-old female, might have been overly stressed due to continuous interaction with tourists.
As per World Animal Protection, there are around 3,000 elephants being used in Thailand for tourists’ attraction.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) addressed the incident, noting, “such incidents highlights the dangers to both humans and animals alike.”
Senior vice president Jason Baker added, “Any ‘sanctuary’ that allows humans to touch, feed, bathe, or closely interact with elephants in any way is no place of refuge for elephants and puts the lives of tourists and animal in critical danger.”
This is not the first time a mahout in Thailand has been charged for negligence as in 2017, an elephant camp owner and the care taker were charged after a Chinese tour guide was killed in Pattaya.
