No more elephant beggars in Chiang Mai!

street begging elephant

That was the claim of a Chiang Mai councillor yesterday, who says that over 20 elephants and their mahouts (handlers) have been forced out of the city by the police. Speaking exclusively to MyChiangMai on condition of using a pseudonym, Khun ‘Sarm’ said that on December 28th most of the mahouts were rounded up and taken to Mae Ping police station. During a 7 hour meeting, they were told they were breaking the law as well as harming the elephants and causing road safety hazards, and given 2 days to leave or be arrested, fined heavily and possibly jailed. Almost all the mahouts complied and organised trucks to move their animals, most returning to their home province of Surin where the Governor has a programme to pay them to stay.
Twenty-four hours later, only 2 elephants were still being paraded around tourist areas, mahouts begging for money to feed them. (Some mahouts have been ‘earning’ up to 8,000b per night and using mobile phones between them to avoid police). Khun ‘Sarm’ said that after a police ‘reminder’, the last 2 also left hastily for Surin, where they claim the Governor’s grant is not enough for them and their animals to live on.
Chiang Mai’s clean up comes some months after a similar, successful operation in Bangkok, and when MyChiangMai questioned business operators in the Night Bazaar and Thapae Gate areas, all agreed that no elephant begging teams had been since since New Year’s Eve.
Editor’s Note: The clean-up comes only weeks after a mahout appeared in court accused of attacking a young Australian couple with his metal hook after they complained of his treatment of an elephant. On the same day, Save Elephant Foundation director Sangduen ‘Lek’ Chailert and supporters presented a petition of over 100,000 signatures to the provincial Governor, protesting elephant begging.

source: My Chiang Mai