circus shows

trekking

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Elephants are not actually designed to have a heavy chair strapped to their back for people to enjoy an elephant ride. Here’s a few facts about elephant trekking:

1. ❖Most elephant trekking camps in Asia offer elephant rides on wooden or metal chairs also known as ‘howdahs’
   

2. ❖Chairs are placed on the elephants back and held in place with thick rope around their stomach and under their tail often causing painful sores
   

3. ❖Any weight over 150kgs puts immense pressure on the elephants back
   

EARS believes responsible elephant tourism can help to save the elephants throughout Asia, but ONLY if camps maintain the highest level of elephant care, food requirements, hygiene and environmental enrichment.

EARS believes in giving practical and impartial advice to visitors wishing to ride an elephant. The numerous elephant camps, some homing over 80 elephants, would financially suffer and therefore their elephants would suffer, if tourists did not visit. Saying this, there are in fact more and more projects offering low impact activities such as riding behind the elephants ears or bathing with elephants in the river (Sanctuaries and Projects), so we hope to gradually see a change in elephant tourism.

Please read our Guide - “Things to know before you go!”.

Please speak out if you don’t like the conditions of the camp, if the owner isn’t aware then they won’t be able to make positive changes.