A tourist enjoys an elephant ride in the Kwai Noi River in Kanchanaburi, but maybe it's not so joyful for the elephant. (Post Today file photo)Hundreds of elephants used in Asia's tourism industry are kept in "severely cruel" conditions, animal welfare group World Animal Protection said on Thursday. According to a report by the non-profit group, around 80% of about 3,000 elephants at tourist venues in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand endure poor living conditions and diets and are overworked. Thailand has an estimated 4,000 domesticated elephants, many working in the tourism trade, and about 2,500 wild elephants. Thailand, which registered record foreign tourist arrivals last year, has seen a rise of 30% in new elephant tourism venues since 2010.

Source: Bangkok Post July 06, 2017 07:41 UTC