After huge growing campaigns against elephant rides, Cambodia has taken a huge step by deciding to ban elephant rides at its famous tourist attraction, Angkor Wat, starting in. This campaign started way back in when the news of an elephant who collapsed and died from exhaustion after one of these tourist rides. This sparked a huge outrage within the local community and many around the world.
In 2018 after another innocent elephant died after this cruel act, in under 48 hours more than 14,000 people signed a petition to end this ridiculous practice.
The Angkor Elephant group committee has finally put a stop to all this animal abuse and has let these elephants be free of all harmful acts.
The committee’s director Oan Kiry told The Phnom Penh Post: “In early 2020, our association plans to end the use of elephants to transport tourists. They can still watch the elephants and take photos of them in our conservation and breeding center. We want the elephants to live in as natural a manner as possible”.
Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief’s and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world. The Monument itself is visited by 2.5 million international tourists each year and as of now, there are 14 overworked abused elephants.
(Facebook cover image: travelinlibrarian)
Nethmi Jayatilleke is a University Undergraduate by day and Freelance Content Writer by night. An avid lover of music, theatre and poetry, Nethze (Her Nickname) considers herself to be a professional procrastinator. She loves adventure, wildlife and is a caffeine dependent. Nethmi enjoys writing articles ranging from serious topics like politics and social issues to more lighthearted things like art, pop culture, and nature. In her spare time, nethmi loves writing food reviews and poetry.
