#Repost @selmablair with @get_repost ・・・ #Repost @maryjeantully with @get_repost ・・・ I agree with this 💯% Most people have no idea...I know I didn’t... If You Love Elephants, Don't Ever Ride Them. Here's Why. ⠀ Elephant riding is on almost everyone’s travel bucket list. We all love elephants, so why wouldn’t we want to ride one as the ultimate Thailand experience? Just before you jump on, here are the seven dirty secrets you need to know… ⠀ 1. Wild elephants won’t let humans ride them: All wild animals need to be trained before they will perform for humans. But elephant training is particularly brutal. The ancient tradition is called the Phajaan. It translates as ‘the breaking of the spirit.’ ⠀ 2. They have to be trained as babies: Calves are so young when they enter the Phajaan they’re still suckling from their mothers. Mothers and calves need to be forcibly separated. They’ll cry out for each other for weeks, but they will never be reunited. ⠀ 3. There’s a reason it’s nicknamed ‘The Crush’: A key part of the Phajaan is a tiny pen. Calves are tied in tightly. Fixed in a standing position. They are unable to walk, sit, lie down or move in anyway. They will remain here for up to a week. Starved of food and sleep. ⠀ 4. Torture will continue until the spirit breaks: th e pen alone is not enough to break an elephant’s wild spirit. They will be beaten, burned and stabbed. Any object can be turned into a weapon. Bullhooks and a bamboo stick with a nail through it are popular choices. Targeting the most sensitive areas. ⠀ 5. Not all babies spirits can be broken: Half of the calves who go into the Phajaan can’t survive it. ⠀ 6. Bullhooks are key to controlling elephants: Discrete jabs in a sensitive areas is a sharp reminder of the Phajaan. Just having one in sight of an elephant is an intimidating threat. ⠀ 7. Elephant backs aren’t strong enough to carry humans: Horses have rounded vertebrae joints. The elephant gaps along their spine makes carrying weight painful. Some argue elephant’s necks are strong enough to support one person. But the weight of a bench and multiple tourists on their back is crippling. ⠀ #fightforelephants #travelwithconscience #dontrideelephant https://www.instagram.com/p/BximAo_B1eC/?igshid=g98udvuhm6k
