Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre in Northern Thailand. They have been involved in dozens of rescues which have created their thriving elephant herd.

Elephants in Thailand are used as tourist attractions, being ridden and forced to perform tricks. Studies show that 50-100 elephant claves are being taken a year and are put through a process called phajaan, a cruel spirit-breaking ritual where the baby calves will be tied up, with no food and water, and beaten relentlessly for days on end. It is pure torture and according to experts, very often the calves will die from their injuries or from stress, starvation or the sheer heartbreak of seeing their family killed in front of their eyes.

After the Elephants are trained to be scared of humans they are sold around Thailand into tourist companies that continue to torture them by allowing tourists to ride them for 10 hours a day, while being forced to walk with metal daggers behind their ears. There is now only 1 Asian Elephant to every 20 African Elephants and they are becoming extinct.

I visited Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai last year and I was able to witness the care and rehabilitation provided for the rescued Elephants. It was a once in a lifetime experience and helped educate me on the cruelty Elephants in Thailand suffer, and discover what needs to be changed in order to stop this.

ENP need donations so that they can continue to expand their Foundation by purchasing more land for the elephants, fund the rehabilitation process, and support/educate local communities.

I appreciate any donations, no matter how small!