Category: Animals and the media

A visit to MandaLao Elephant Conservation in Laos.

If you should be visiting Laos and staying in the ever-popular Luang Prabang area you might be tempted to visit one of the much touted nearby elephant camps. Booking offices for the camps line the main street of the town and you are spoilt for choice. Hopefully you will be looking for an ethically operated one which does not condone elephant riding. The MandaLao Elephant Conservation is certainly one of those. 

We recently had the pleasure of spending a day with their elephants and staff and came away with extremely positive feelings that Asian elephants can be saved and allowed to have, as they put it, “dignified and comfortable lives in harmony with nature.” We came away impressed with their philosophy and professionalism.

But it is not the same at all the elephant “rescues” in the area and throughout Laos. Elephant riding is not banned and it is common to see elephant camps advertising tours for riding.  There was in fact a new elephant riding camp under construction at the time of our visit.

Elephant riding scars

One of the rescued Mandalao elephants with scars caused by the howdah seat used for tourist riding.

To ride or not to ride elephants

The ethics and welfare aspects of riding them is constantly under review and debate with some experts going so far as believing it is good for them. This does rather stretch the credibility though. All purport to rescue ill-treated animals from logging and tourists attractions with low welfare, but many who obtain them are tourist attractions themselves and welfare standards can vary.

MandaLao Elephant Conservation and the nearby Elephant Conservation centre do seem to have got it right. Mandalao are focused on allowing the animals to live as natural a life as possible, roaming, foraging and forming bonds to create a herd that can be released.

Visiting MandaLao Elephant Conservation

Trekking with the elephants. You are provided with water canteens and legging boots.

It is a short road trip to the MandaLao headquarters, a new state of the art complex perched above the river with great vistas. After a welcoming drink we sat and had a lecture from the genial and visionary elephant expert Mr Prasop Tipprasert who is their chief consultant and often referred to as the elephant whisperer. It was extremely educational, but perhaps too technical for the average tourist who just wants to see the elephants as soon as possible.

Mandalao Elephants foraging in forest

Foraging for themselves under the watchful eye of the mahouts. It is wonderful enjoying the serenity of their company.

Mr Tipprasert hails from the Thailand Elephant Conservation centre where over the last three decades  he has been the originator and pioneer of the Positive Reinforcement Training of elephants. Basically, this means training with rewards such as a treat or praise when behaving well. He also successfully introduced the concept and establishment of having forest buffer zones around  elephant sanctuaries so as not to upset adjacent farmers and residents and made it possible to release some elephants back into the wild.

The centre operates a morning and afternoon group of up to eight people and an all-day group restricted to four, which although expensive is by far the best experience. We took part in the all day and were the only ones and were taken across the river in a canoe to meet the two elephants we were to spend our day with. We spent a leisurely morning trekking with them and their mahouts and an extremely informative and helpful guide named Tanh who had a great sense of humour.

A new arrival suffering awful repetitive behavior and at the beginning of her rehabilitation. Filmed by Debbie Jacob.

Fascinating to watch their natural habits

We watched as they foraged and used their fascinating natural skills and habits such as breaking off branches stripping the leaves while holding them with their massive feet. It was all done at their pace and the mahouts seemed devoted to them. We then had lunch at a jungle camp, a swim in a small waterfall and a final trek back. It was wonderful to see the elephants just being elephants.

So, if you do find yourselves in Luang Prabang I can recommend MandaLao.  It is professionally run with no hint of touristy tactics and not used by drop in tours. Every visitor provides financial help for the care of the animals and in expanding their operation to give even more retired elephants the peaceful life they deserve amongst friends, both human and of their own kind.

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I’m a Celebrity. 17,000 complaints to UK RSPCA. Why?

The twenty-second series of I’m a Celebrity, of which I haven’t watched twenty-one, has finally ended, with the usual fanfare. It is a show which TV critics believe unites the country in a national conversation and arouses anger over the use of animals. But does anyone really care?

The twenty-second series of I’m a Celebrity, of which I haven’t watched twenty- one, has finally ended, with the usual fanfare. It is a show which TV critics believe unites the country in a national conversation and in some quarters arouses anger over the use of animals. But for the vast majority of viewers it is eagerly awaited and watched. So is it really worth complaining about every year.

This year the number of complaints to the UK RSPCA about the the use of animals increased. But as usual the producers brushed off any complaints because they know the viewers like it just the way it is and they can survive without those that don’t. It makes huge revenue for the ITV so there is no chance of them ever changing the format. People watch it because they like to see the contestants squirm and they like to squirm with them.

If dogs or cats were used on the show.

The animals involved are mostly rats, fish, reptiles and insects which are viewed by many as not “proper animals.” They are not the kind that viewers can empathise with and it is also difficult for people to grasp the notion that such lowly creatures may feel pain or distress, particularly when many cultures eat them anyway.

To most people they are just pests, creepie crawlies, bugs and slimy dangerous reptiles, which we stamp on, spray toxic chemicals on and randomly kill all the time. They are plentiful and not endangered and are mainly of nuisance value to us, so it is difficult to convince anyone to care. Now if dogs or cats were used on the show it would be a different matter. We have, and unfortunately always will have, this rather speciesist and hypocritical attitude to the status of animals and their welfare.

I'm a Celebrity

The RSPCA says:

Every year, we are faced with serious concerns about the use of animals, including snakes, insects and other live creatures during the filming of the show. Since ‘I’m a Celebrity’ was first aired, animals have been dropped, thrown, handled roughly, crushed, chased, overcrowded, scared by contestants and prevented from escaping from stressful experiences.

RSPCA

The RSPCA has had 22-years to do something about the show without success which is probably proof that it is an impossible task. This is because they do not have the weight of public opinion supporting them. In reality clogging up their telephone lines and workforce is a fruitless task when their time could be better spent dealing urgent cruelty calls in the UK. They do have a campaign at the moment whereby you can email ITV for all the good that will do. Far better perhaps to campaign and complain to the Australian RSPCA and State officials to stop them hosting the show, but of course they have their own version and seem little interested.

No mention of I’m a Celebrity.

There is no mention on the RSPCA NSW website about the show at all and as the show organisers point out the Society has an open invitation to attend and watch filming whenever they want. It would appear they cannot do anything either or be bothered.

Also, did I miss all the demonstrations by environmental and animal rights supporters outside the ITV headquarters in Holborn about the show, or perhaps there weren’t any. Activists seem to be too busy now blocking the M25 to worry about a few bugs, rats and snakes or perhaps too busy watching Matt Hancock eating and wrestling the creatures. Ironically there were far more complaints about him appearing in the show than concern for the animals.

Using animals for our entertainment goes back to the Romans fighting lions in the colosseum and beyond and the attitudes of the general populace haven’t changed in the interim. Most viewers do not really care or prefer to ignore the plight of animals in these circumstances, looking down of those who do as being petty and spoil sports. The show will only end or change when viewers get bored with it or contestants refuse to take part, neither of which seems anytime soon. But yes it is still worth complaining about.

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