New Video Exposes Suffering of Primates, Elephants, and Other Animals for Tourists in Thailand

For Immediate Release:

12 June 2019

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

NEW VIDEO EXPOSES SUFFERING OF PRIMATES, ELEPHANTS, AND OTHER ANIMALS FOR TOURISTS IN THAILAND

PETA Asia Reveals Barren Pens, Open Wounds, Animals Jabbed With Spikes, and More at Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo

London – On the heels of a National Geographic report exposing cruelty in the animal-tourism industry, PETA Asia has obtained new video footage showing animals suffering at Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Thailand.

At Samutprakarn, PETA Asia found elephants kept tethered by extremely short chains, including Gluay Hom, who was just a baby. They suffered from bleeding wounds, and handlers jabbed them with sharp metal spikes to force them into giving rides and performing tricks, like bowling, painting, and dancing. Unable to interact with each other, the elephants continuously swayed back and forth, a symptom of psychological distress.

PETA Asia eyewitnesses also found that animals such as a tiger, a chimpanzee, and an orangutan were exploited as photo props. When not being used for photos, the primates were held in cramped cages. They appeared to be frustrated and depressed, as they were denied mental stimulation and any opportunity for social interaction, both of which are extremely important to their well-being.

“The animals at this Thai zoo see nothing but concrete, chains, and cages,” says PETA Asia Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker. “PETA is calling on travellers around the world to stay away from any facility that sentences wild animals to a miserable life of violence and deprivation.”

The Thai elephant industry is notorious for the phajaan ritual, in which still-nursing baby elephants are dragged away from their mothers, immobilised, beaten mercilessly, and gouged with nails for days at a time. This treatment breaks their spirit, after which they spend the rest of their lives in captivity at facilities like Samutprakarn.

Photographs from the investigation are available here. Broadcast-quality video footage is available here. For more information and ways to help animals, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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