Tourism, Agriculture, Wildlife, and Emerging Protections in Southeast Asia
Thailand presents a complex and evolving animal welfare landscape. As a major tourism destination, agricultural exporter, and biodiversity hotspot, it grapples with the intersection of cultural traditions, economic pressures, and growing international scrutiny of animal use. From elephant tourism to shrimp aquaculture, from fighting fish to temple animals, Thailand's animal welfare story is multifaceted — and increasingly, it is one of reform.
Thailand passed the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act B.E. 2557 (2014), the country's first dedicated animal welfare legislation. The Act prohibits acts of cruelty and neglect to animals, requires provision of appropriate food, water, shelter, and veterinary care, and establishes penalties of up to two years imprisonment and/or fines up to 40,000 baht.
Thailand's elephant tourism industry is one of the country's most internationally visible animal welfare issues. Approximately 3,800 captive elephants are in Thailand — more than remain in the wild — and the majority are used in tourism contexts ranging from riding camps to street begging to performance shows.
Traditional elephant training — the phajaan or "crush" — involves immobilizing young elephants in small enclosures, sleep deprivation, and physical punishment to "break" their will and establish human control. While increasingly condemned internationally, the practice has been difficult to eliminate because it is deeply embedded in mahout culture and economic structures.
International consumer pressure, amplified by social media campaigns and documentaries, has driven significant change in the elephant tourism industry. A growing number of facilities have transitioned to "ethical elephant sanctuaries" model — offering observation, feeding, and limited contact without riding or performances. Major booking platforms including TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and Airbnb have banned the sale of elephant riding experiences.
Not all facilities calling themselves "sanctuaries" operate to genuine welfare standards. The term is unregulated in Thailand, and some facilities use sanctuary branding while continuing to offer riding, shows, or other contact-heavy activities. Third-party certification schemes — including the Elephant Sanctuary Project's auditing framework — are emerging to address this credibility gap.
Thailand is a major global exporter of farmed shrimp, particularly white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). The welfare of crustaceans — including shrimp — is an emerging area of scientific and ethical concern, with evidence accumulating that decapod crustaceans have nociceptive systems capable of processing painful stimuli.
Eye ablation — the removal of eyestalks to stimulate reproduction in female broodstock shrimp — is a standard industry practice globally, including in Thailand. The practice causes tissue damage and is performed without anesthesia. As evidence for shrimp sentience grows, pressure to eliminate or replace eye ablation is increasing from both welfare advocates and sustainability-focused buyers.
Cockfighting has a long cultural history in Thailand and remains widespread, particularly in rural areas. While the 2014 Animal Welfare Act technically prohibits animal fighting, cockfighting exists in a legal grey zone — it is regulated under gambling laws rather than animal welfare law in practice, and enforcement of welfare provisions against it has been minimal.
The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), native to Thailand, is bred extensively for competitive fighting as well as the ornamental fish trade. Fish fighting, while practiced at smaller scale than cockfighting, raises similar welfare concerns.
Buddhist temples throughout Thailand traditionally provide refuge to stray animals, particularly dogs and cats. While this represents a cultural expression of compassion, the welfare outcomes are variable — overcrowded temple populations can face disease, malnutrition, and inadequate veterinary care.
Thailand has one of Asia's highest estimated populations of stray dogs — estimates range from 750,000 to over 3 million. Culling programs have been phased out in most urban areas in favor of rabies vaccination and sterilization programs, but the scale of the stray population means welfare outcomes remain inconsistent.
Thailand has historically been a major transit hub for illegal wildlife trafficking, with Bangkok's Chatuchak Market once notorious as a center of illegal wildlife trade. Sustained law enforcement pressure, international cooperation (particularly through CITES), and NGO engagement have reduced but not eliminated this trade.
Thailand ratified CITES in 1983 and has domestic legislation (the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act) prohibiting trade in protected species. Enforcement has strengthened significantly since the 2010s, with high-profile seizures of tiger parts, elephant ivory, and live primates receiving international attention.
Thailand's livestock sector — including substantial poultry, pig, and cattle production — operates largely under productivity-focused frameworks. The Thai Broiler Industry is among the world's largest, with export volumes reaching the EU and Japan, where welfare standards for imported products are increasingly scrutinized.
Thailand's animal welfare trajectory is broadly positive, driven by a combination of domestic legal reform, international market pressure, and a growing domestic awareness particularly among urban, educated populations. The most significant challenges remain in enforcement capacity, cultural practices around working and performing animals, and comprehensive farm animal welfare standards. Thailand's integration into global supply chains and tourism markets creates powerful leverage for continued improvement — and its growing middle class is an important constituency for domestic welfare advocacy.