In Thailand, India, and other parts of the world, sham elephant “sanctuaries” put the lives of tourists and animals in critical danger. At these facilities, elephants don’t roam freely in their natural habitat—their lives consist of exploitation, abuse, and forced, stressful interactions with tourists.

Any place that allows humans to touch, feed, bathe, or closely interact with elephants in any other way is no place of refuge. Here are three reasons to avoid sham elephant “sanctuaries” in Thailand and elsewhere:

1. You could be killed.

In January 2025, an apparently panicked elephant killed a tourist while she was bathing the animal at a “sanctuary” in southern Thailand.

Elephants are large, powerful, highly sensitive animals who, when threatened, may act “aggressively” out of self-defense. At elephant-exploiting facilities, handlers often beat the animals, chain them, and deprive them of important social relationships with other elephants. The endless violence and trauma that these sensitive, emotional animals endure make cruel public encounters a recipe for injury and death.

2. They profit off of abuse.

Elephants would never choose to interact with humans—they are forced into submission. PETA Asia footage taken at a Thai tourist attraction showed handlers forcing elephants to give rides to visitors under the constant threat of physical punishment. Handlers were seen menacingly waving weapons around elephants’ heads, keeping the animals constantly fearful and anxious. Many elephants were seen swaying back and forth—an abnormal behavior that appears to be a mechanism for coping with constant stress.

In nature, male elephants stay with their loving, protective mothers until their teenage years while female elephants often stay with their mothers for their entire lives. In Thailand’s tourism industry, facilities tear baby elephants away from their mothers to “train” them for a lifetime of exploitation and abuse. Handlers hit them, deprive them of food and water, and bound them with ropes to “crush” their spirits. As a result, these emotional, sensitive animals learn to become fearful of their captors.

3. They hinder conservation efforts.

All “sham” elephant sanctuaries do is harm the very animals they claim to protect. Selling elephant interactions to tourists sends the message that these feeling animals exist for humans’ amusement. Elephant populations around the world are critically endangered, and cruel tourist traps only exacerbate the issue more.

How Do I Know if an Elephant Sanctuary Is Fake?

Any seedy facility can add “sanctuary,” “refuge,” “rescue,” or other humane-washing descriptors to its name—but that doesn’t make it true. These terms aren’t regulated in any way, which means it’s up to visitors to know the difference between conservation and exploitation.

The bottom line: True sanctuaries never buy, sell, trade, breed, exploit, or profit from elephants. They never use bullhooks or punish the animals in other ways—even out of tourists’ sight—and they don’t force animals who naturally avoid humans into close contact with them. There is no such thing as a “true” sanctuary that allows visitors to bathe, touch, feed, ride on, or take photos with elephants. At these facilities, the abuse may not be in plain sight—but it’s likely happening behind the scenes.

At true sanctuaries, elephants can socialize with other members of their own species and roam spacious, lush habitat as they please. Free of exploitation, elephants can do everything that’s natural and important to them, from foraging in forests to splashing in ponds. True sanctuaries offer only observational tours and keep visitors a comfortable distance from the elephants so as not to disturb them—or put visitors in danger. Most importantly, real sanctuaries don’t exist for profit—they exist to protect animals and educate the public.

What You Can Do

Elephants form strong, lasting bonds with their family members and greet their loved ones using unique gestures and vocalizations. They work together to solve problems and rely on the wisdom, judgment, and experience of their eldest relatives. In their natural habitat, elephants spend their days socializing, swimming, browsing, and playing. These animals do not want to be abused and exploited for any reason.

YOU can help elephants by never visiting a tourist trap that exploits them. Take action today:

The post Tourist Killed at Sham Elephant ‘Sanctuary’ in Thailand—3 Reasons to Stay Far Away From These Facilities appeared first on PETA.