BANGKOK, 30 March 2018: Three more companies have withdrawn support for an annual elephant polo tournament organised by Anantara Hotels and Resorts for the last 16 years.
PETA Asia in an email statement sent to TTR Weekly, Thursday, said a video shot by animal welfare activists, that showed handlers repeatedly beating elephants on the sidelines of the polo tournament, had convinced Johnnie Walker, Campari Group, and PwC to withdraw future sponsorship.
“They have informed PETA that they’ll no longer support the cruel competition, which touts itself as a charity event for elephants,” the statement read.
Last week, Sunraysia, GROHE, Ecolab, JDE, Angus Energy, Häfele, and Vespa all confirmed they were withdrawing support.
In a statement provided to PETA, Campari Group stated: “The group condemns any form of violence and mistreatment towards animals and for this reason has decided to immediately suspend its sponsorship of the event.”
The video footage, shot from nearby hotel and apartment windows, showed handlers in a holding area next to the polo grounds repeatedly beating and jabbing elephants’ with bullhooks – weapons that resemble a fireplace poker with a sharp metal hook on one end – which they also used to pull the animals by their extremely sensitive ears.
The tournament organiser terminated the services of the mahouts identified in the video.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – notes that elephants used for polo tournaments, rides, or any other type of entertainment are forced into submission through violent training, during which they’re regularly beaten.
Anantara Hotels and Resorts has raised around THB 4 million annually for elephant welfare projects mainly in Thailand.
Over the 16 years, the tournament’s charity fund and other donations from corporations raised by the hotel group have reached THB 100 million. The funds have been used for specific projects to safeguard elephants from abuse and also train mahouts.
Sentiments are split on the polo tournament and the future role of elephants in tourism. The travel industry has largely ignored the abuse exposed by PETA and turned a deaf ear to voices that called for the end of elephant rides and circus-style acts.
There are an estimated 3,000 domestic elephants many of them working at tourist attractions, countrywide.
Anantara Hotels and Resort has indicated a willingness to sit down and talk with PETA to explore opportunities to support elephant welfare.
However, the tourism industry, its leaders and academics should urgently call a national symposium to identify the problems and reach a consensus on the way forward to secure the heritage and well-being of Thailand’s domestic elephants.
