Elephant kills trainer with tourists on its back in Thailand

Reports that an elephant has killed its mahout (trainer) with two tourists on its back are a grim reminder that elephants are wild animals, not meant to be used in entertainment. 

A life in tourist entertainment is no life for an elephant. Forced to endure cruel training to make them perform and to interact with people, they spend their whole lives in captive conditions, living in misery and denied interaction with other elephants. Refusing to perform out of fear or stress will mean being punished into submission. 

That's why we have launched a campaign to help the public understand the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes in wild animal entertainment.

Since then, over 39,500 of you have pledged to be animal-friendly tourists and help stop elephants and other animals suffering for entertainment.

Wild animals belong in the wild. Our advice is simple: If you love wild animals, view them in their natural habitats.

Learn more about our campaign and how to stop the cruelty facing wild animals in entertainment.