The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand Is a Celebrity Must-See
By Chelsea Stone. Photos by: Getty Creative and courtesy of Instagram.
One Thai elephant sanctuary is being thrust into the spotlight for its efforts to provide sanctuary for aging, mistreated elephants with the help of a few famous visitors. The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, a pioneer in ethical elephant tourism, offers a 30-acre safe haven for elephants who are injured, sick, old, and abused after working for years in the country's harsh tourism and logging industries.
"Before we opened, there was nowhere on the island for old, sick, injured, tired, or overworked elephants to go, no retirement home," Louise Rogerson, cofounder of the sanctuary told CNN. "They were worked until they died." Rogerson also described the cruel, inhumane practices that many of Thailand's trekking camps, which allow tourists to ride on the back of elephants for a small fee, employ to break the animals, including separating them from their mothers, beating them, confining them to small spaces, and depriving them of sleep and food. At the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, elephants are allowed to roam free during the day, and at night, they stay in large shelters.
But the sanctuary, which is currently home to four adorable, fun-loving elephants, is not just rescuing the animals from these terrible conditions; it's also on the road to reforming the country's treatment of the animals. Rogerson told CNN, "We call it the 'saddle off' approach. If there is any camp that wants to embrace change and follow what we're doing, we're happy to help them in any way possible."
According to The Telegraph, a slew of celebrities have reportedly stopped by to support the work of the sanctuary and meet the elephants, including Coldplay's Chris Martin, actor Aaron Paul, DJ Kaskade, and even Oscar winner/environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio. See Paul and a few of the elephants happily living out their retirement at the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, below.
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This story originally appeared on Architectural Digest.
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