In brief
A 22-year-old Spanish woman, Blanca Ojanguren García, was fatally injured by an elephant while engaging in a popular tourist activity at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Thailand. Local authorities reported that the incident occurred last Friday, amidst concerns regarding the ethics of elephant bathing and tourism.
Blanca was studying law and international relations at the University of Navarra and was in Taiwan on a student exchange program. Reports indicate that her boyfriend witnessed the horrifying attack. Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, confirmed that the Spanish consulate in Bangkok is providing support to García's family during this tragic time.While elephant bathing has become a common tourist attraction in Thailand, activists have condemned the practice as harmful to the animals involved. Experts noted that the elephant's behavior might have been influenced by stress stemming from continuous interactions with tourists, which disrupts their natural behaviors and environments. Thailand is home to over 4,000 wild elephants, with an equivalent number in captivity, as reported by the Department of National Parks. The Koh Yao centre offers various packages priced between 1,900 and 2,900 baht, allowing visitors to feed and bathe the elephants. However, animal welfare groups, including World Animal Protection, have advocated against such practices, highlighting that many elephants endure distressing conditions in tourism and captivity.According to the charity, the majority of elephants utilized for tourism in Asia live in "severely inadequate" circumstances that prevent the expression of natural social structures, causing significant suffering and distress. The recent incident underscores the pressing need for a reevaluation of animal tourism practices in Thailand.
