Millions of tourists ride elephants or watch shows annually. Behind most elephant tourism lies a system of capture, breaking, and confinement that causes profound suffering throughout elephants lives.
The welfare costs of elephant tourism are severe and well-documented. Training through the phajaan process involves prolonged physical restraint, sleep deprivation, pain, and psychological breakdown that causes lasting trauma. Stereotypic behaviours observed in 70-80% of captive elephants indicate chronic psychological suffering. Riding causes physical injury to the spine and joint problems. Social isolation from normal elephant society deprives animals of complex social bonds critical to elephant wellbeing. Inadequate diet, restricted movement, and lack of environmental enrichment compound these harms. While some genuine elephant sanctuaries exist with higher welfare standards, identifying them requires careful research.