Asian elephant expert sounds alarm over “elephant sanctuaries” after a the tourist was killed while I was visiting one in Thailand.
Blanca Ojanguren García, 22, a law student at the University of Navarra, died last week. She was bathing an elephant at Koh Yao Elephant Care when the 50-year-old animal killed her with its trunk, according to Spanish media.
Around 18 people were in the shelter at the time, including the victim’s boyfriend, the company told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. No other visitors were injured, and details of the incident, such as the treatment of the animals, are still unknown.
But the incident raises questions about how safe elephant sanctuaries, which lure tourists with promises of getting up close to the animals, really are.
Concerns about elephant tourism emerged after a Spanish student killed an elephant last week. (iStock/Getty Images)
Duncan McNair, chief executive of the London-based charity Save the Asian elephants, spoke to Fox News Digital about the tragedy and warned that tourists should think twice before visiting.
“‘Shelter,’ a bit like ‘sanctuary’ and ‘orphanage,’ is a very nasty term that is usually devoid of meaning or certainly devoid of accuracy,” McNair said. “The the vast majority of sanctuaries in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Cambodia… are not ethical. They are brutal, and they do it all for money.”
It is still not known why the elephant struck García or how the sanctuary’s keepers treated the creature before the killing. But McNair said that while it was possible the elephant was unaware of its strength, it was more likely that it was attacking the conditions in which it was kept.
“[The trunk] is an extraordinarily diverse and durable organ that is multi-purpose,” McNair explained. “An elephant doesn’t randomly whip around or swing its trunk. … It is highly unlikely that this was an accident.
McNair advises against tourists getting up close and personal with elephants, citing concerns for both parties. (iStock/Getty Images)
“So why did this happen? Well, of course, because the elephant, which was like almost all elephants in captivity for commercial exploitation, was kept in a completely unnatural condition, under extreme stress.”
He emphasized that although elephants are gentle and intelligent animals, their “calmness” does not mean they are domesticated. And they can react harshly to any threat or stressor they perceive, even a well-intentioned tourist.
“Elephants are wild animals. … They are kept in captivity, after being brutally abused into submission,” McNair explained. “But that doesn’t mean they’re tamed. It just means they’re terrified for a while.
“If they see their chance, or if they are overwhelmed, they will attack and kill.”
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Elephant sanctuaries lure tourists with opportunities to touch elephants, but they can pose serious risks. (iStock/Getty Images)
The animal rights advocate pointed out that while elephants are “wonderful and complex” herbivores, they will still react aggressively when threatened.
“They react, sometimes extremely, when something flashes in their vision,” McNair explained. “And, therefore, to put an elephant that has been abused in captivity for probably decades, in close proximity to a young woman who probably has very little experience with elephants and no proper training, is an absolute recipe for disaster.”
McNair, who also works as a corporate attorney, also noted that abuse of elephants begins before the animals even set foot in sanctuaries. Elephants are often kidnapped by poachers who commit crimes ranging from killing mothers in front of their children to repeatedly stabbing baby elephants to subdue them.
Elephants, although gentle, are dangerous to humans when abused. (iStock/Getty Images)
“With elephants being brutalized and abused for use in tourism, they are extremely dangerous. … Not only are these activities so disastrous for elephants, they are deadly dangerous for humans as well,” he said.
Through Save the Asian Elephants, McNair has campaigned for legislation to stop animal abuse practices, such as the Animals (Overseas Low Welfare Activities) Act passed by the UK Parliament in 2023. This work has also recently led to his appointment as Legal hero 2024 by the Law Society of England and Wales.
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Now, he and other animal advocates are scrutinizing tour companies that encourage the unethical treatment of elephants. Some sanctuaries treat elephants ethically, McNair said, and advised tourists to do their research before booking their trips for their own safety and the safety of the elephants.
“[We want] to try to shift the animal tourism market from brutal to ethical,” McNair explained. “That’s the real intent, not to shut down tourism businesses, nothing like that. This is to help animals and people who want to make money from animal tourism. … That’s fine, but be ethical.”
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