International

Bathing with elephants, the popular Thai tourist activity criticized by animal rights activists

The bathing with elephants offered by some centers is a controversial activity to attract tourists in Thailand, which some organizations denounce that it involves risks by stressing animals that weigh more than a ton and have a very high sensitivity.

After the Spanish Blanca Ojanguren, 22 years old, was fatally attacked last Friday by an elephant in a tourist center on the island of Yao Yai (southwest of the country), where she took a bath with her boyfriend, the warnings made by some organizations about the implications of this practice resonate.

The police are still investigating the event

The Yao Yai Police confirmed to EFE on Monday that it is still investigating what happened to the Spanish woman and “gathers evidence” to determine the precise cause of her death.

Following the event, the Spanish Cristina Palacio, co-director of the Kindred Spirit sanctuary, located in the Thai town of Chiang Mai – where bathing with pachyderms is not allowed – emphasizes that “the main problem is the captivity of wild animals.”

Palacio told EFE that tourists must be provided with “correct information” about the nature of elephants so that they can demand “different and respectful experiences.”

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Maternal separation

For its part, World Animal Protection warns that the first step to getting an elephant to be bathed by strangers is to “separate the offspring from their mothers, keep them isolated, deprive them of food and water and, in many cases, beat them repeatedly until they can be controlled with fear.”

There is no evidence that this method, which the NGO says it knows through sources that it does not identify, is complied with in all tourist centers that have these animals, while about 2,800 are exhibited in centers for various activities in Thailand, according to data from the organization.

These practices, they insist, have been spreading in Asian countries to attract foreign visitors, as it is seen as a less aggressive spectacle, leaving behind elephant rides, whose attractiveness has decreased in recent years, when – the NGO believes – awareness against animal abuse has grown.

Bathing elephants: health risk for animals and humans

The nature reserve of the tourist island of Phuket prohibits visitors from having direct contact with animals, except to observe them from a prudent distance, and on its website clarifies: “Elelphants do not want to be bathed by humans and humans should not bathe elephants.”

This center warns about the health risks that these baths contain for the animal and for humans, because – among other factors – the elephant can urinate or defecate, increasing the chances of infection for himself and for tourists who stay close, thanks to these offers that allow up to two hours of contact for a price close to one hundred euros.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

“In wet and slippery conditions you can fall. With a three-ton elephant nearby, potentially stressed, this is something you really want to avoid,” warns the reserve, which does not deny that pachyderms enjoy bathing or covering themselves with mud, but only when they want it.

The activity generates disparity of opinions and other centers, including a very popular one 155 kilometers from Bangkok that was open on its website this Monday, offer bathing with elephants as one of their activities, defending the protection of the animal and denying possible abuses.

Thailand, the country of elephants

Thailand, which leads the number of elephants in Southeast Asia, tries to control the growth of this population with contraceptive programs to mainly prevent the rapid reproduction of pachyderms in wildlife.

According to government records, there are currently between 4,013 and 4,222 wild elephants (living in freedom), which have caused the death of 240 people since 2012 and that sometimes cross to areas inhabited by people, due to the loss of natural habitat.

It is also estimated that there is a similar population of domestic elephants in the country, of which there is no recent official data on serious incidents with humans, most of them used in shows intended for tourists.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.