Carol Buckley first encountered an elephant when she was 19 and that short moment became a turning point in her life. Drawn into their intelligence and playfulness -- and by her sympathy towards the neglected condition of elephants -- Buckley has been putting efforts towards improving their welfare for the last 40 years.
In 2009, the American founded Elephant Aid International, an NGO that aims to raise the world's awareness on the terrible lives led by both captive and wild elephants.
Buckley, 61, also supports a positive approach towards elephant management, starting from the basis that a healthy relationship with an animal does not require whips nor chains. Their mahout -- a kwan chang or elephant caretaker and trainer -- can operate on EAI's Compassionate Elephant Caring system, which utilises food rewards, praise and fosters a mutual respect between the two, rather than the more commonly used methods of violence.
"This species is far superior to ours," said Buckley, "we could learn so much about our own lives and spiritual growth by observing the natural lives of elephants."
To initiate a pain-free home for elephants, she and the team recently constructed solar-powered, chain-free corrals at the Friends of the Asian Elephant and Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in Thailand. Buckley hopes that, one day, elephants will no longer live with metal chains around their ankles -- that if they are held captive they will at lease be allowed to walk around freely in the safety of their spacious confinement.
What is a chain-free corral? How does it work?
It is an enclosure constructed of steel posts and a high-tensile horizontal wire hooked up to a solar-powered energiser which emits a low 10V pulsating current, making it harmless to the animal.
Elephants are highly sensitive. Their bodies are basically hairless. So they experience discomfort if they touch the wire. They are very smart animals and will avoid touching the wire again. It works in containing captive elephants, as well as preventing wild elephants from entering the area. Although not 100% foolproof, all of the captive elephants have remained in the corrals.
Additionally, the chain-free corral offers elephants something they've never had in their lives: autonomy and the freedom to move about unsupervised. They are content in their corral as long as it has sufficient room and plenty of food.
Before the introduction of chain-free corrals, how were captive elephants being treated?
Normally, they were held in chains at all times when they were not working, doing shows or begging on the streets. The chains restrained their movement, keeping them in one place. They were only allowed to move a few inches in any direction.
Traditionally, elephants were chained alone -- in proximity to other elephants, but not allowed to physically interact with others as they would in their natural state of being. Manure piled up in close proximity to the elephants. Places with poor waste management just had to burn the manure to get rid of it.
When on chains, elephants are deprived of every natural movement possible -- even lying down is made difficult.
This lack of natural mobility can result in arthritis, osteoarthritis, foot disease, boredom and aggression.
What sort of threats are being faced by elephants?
Habitat destruction is the biggest threat to elephants. This threatens wild elephants as it decreases their access to food and migratory routes. It also creates a market for elephants to be held captive because wild elephants are viewed as crop raiders.
Until we humans voluntarily control our own population growth, no species on our planet is safe from our over-consumption of the planets resources.
Street begging, feeding and riding on elephants have become a must-do activity in Thailand for tourists. What are your thoughts on this?
Street begging and giving tourist rides is detrimental to the well-being of elephants on so many levels. In most cases, a young calf is removed from his or her mother who normally would nurse numerous times a day for close to five years. This premature separation from the mother and herd causes not only physical problems, like malnutrition, but also psychological problems as a result of the trauma of being separated at such a young and naive age. Walking on hot tarmac roads also damages the elephant's foot pads, which could give them blisters that turn into abscesses -- causing a crippling condition where the foot pad sloughs off.
Allowing tourists to feed a young calf threatens the baby's health further through the possibility of introducing a disease from the tourist touching the calf's food.
Strict welfare guidelines should be implemented to ensure elephants are not exploited and that the tourist's desires are not placed before the welfare of the elephant.
What can humans do to best help elephants?
Humans can push for governments to implement elephant welfare standards. They can book their travels through companies that have strict elephant welfare policies. They should never ride, feed, pet or play with elephants, but instead offer to pay to walk along with elephants that are taken out to a natural area for grazing. Tourism can be transformed from riding and feeding to watching elephants be elephants.
Visit www.elephantaidinternational.org for more information.
