Abstract
This study focused on determining the size and welfare aspects of Asian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and tiger populations at facilities open to tourists in Thailand. Data were gathered from 118 venues through direct observations and interviews with staff. A score sheet-based welfare assessment was used to calculate scores between 1 and 10, indicating each venue’s welfare situation. Factors such as freedom of movement for the animals, access to veterinary care, environmental noise quality, hygiene standards and work intensity were included in the score sheet. 1688 elephants, 371 macaques and 621 tigers were found at the venues. 89 venues exclusively kept elephants, 9 designated ‘Monkey schools’ offered macaque shows, 4 venues kept primarily tigers, mostly for petting and photo opportunities, and the remaining venues kept a mix of these animals. A strong imbalance in female to male gender ratios was recorded with about 4:1 for adult elephants and 1:4 for adult macaques. Severely inadequate welfare conditions were common, with 75% of macaques and 99% of tigers being kept at venues with scores less than 5. 86% of elephants were kept in inadequate conditions at venues with scores between 3 and 5, but a significant number of venues with scores above 5 were found. 4.6% of elephants were provided commendable conditions, reaching assessment scores of 8 and above. 71% of venues did not offer any sort of education about animals to visitors. This study is the first to assess welfare aspects of captive wild animals at tourism venues across Thailand. It concludes that significant concerns exist about the welfare of wild animals in the tourism sector of Thailand. Urgent attention needs to be given to address these concerns and prevent further suffering. But also to ensure the demand for wild animals doesn’t have a negative impact on wild populations.
Highlights
Thailand is home to a large area of natural habitat for many wild species which are partially managed in protected areas, including species which are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [1]
Due to missing accountability and limited regulation, valid concerns exist that the demand for wild animals through tourism is having a negative impact on the conservation of wild species and that the existing captive wild animals are suffering through inadequate husbandry conditions [9]
The welfare situation for the vast majority of animals kept at venues accessible to tourists is deeply worrying and the husbandry conditions must be improved as a matter of urgency
Summary
Thailand is home to (or borders with) a large area of natural habitat for many wild species which are partially managed in protected areas, including species which are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [1]. International concerns have been raised regarding various conservation issues with Thailand being identified as a source and transit country in the international wildlife trade[2,3,4]. Over the years Thailand’s tourism industry has continued to maintain and promote attractions using wild-caught or captive-bred wild animals with little regulation or monitoring [6,7,8]. No database exists accounting for the numbers of animals at such venues or for the welfare conditions they are kept in. Due to missing accountability and limited regulation, valid concerns exist that the demand for wild animals through tourism is having a negative impact on the conservation of wild species and that the existing captive wild animals are suffering through inadequate husbandry conditions [9]
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