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Asian elephant expert raises alarm over ‘elephant sanctuaries’ after a the tourist was killed while visiting one in Thailand.
Blanca Oyanguren Garcia, 22, a law student at the University of Navarre, died last week. She was bathing an elephant at Koh Yao Elephant Care when the 50-year-old animal killed her with its trunk, Spanish media reported.
About 18 people were in the reserve at the time, including the victim’s boyfriend, the company told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Other visitors were not injured, and details of the incident, such as how the animals were treated, are still unknown.
But the incident raises questions about how safe elephant sanctuaries, which lure tourists with promises of getting up close and personal, really are.
Concerns about elephant tourism arose after a Spanish student was killed by an elephant last week. (iStock/Getty Images)
Duncan McNair, CEO of the London-based charity Save the Asian elephants spoke to Fox News Digital about the tragedy and warned that tourists should think twice before visiting one.
“‘Sanctuary,’ a bit like ‘asylum’ and ‘orphanages,’ is a very unpleasant term that is usually devoid of meaning or certainly devoid of precision,” McNair said. “ The vast majority of game reserves in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Cambodia … are not ethical. They are cruel, and they do it all for money.”
It is still not known why the elephant hit Garcia or how the reserve staff handled the creature before it was killed. But McNair said that while the elephant was unaware of its power, it was likely lashing out at the conditions in which it was kept.
“(The trunk) is an extraordinarily diverse and durable organ that is multi-functional,” McNair explained. “An elephant does not lunge at random or swing its trunk… It is highly unlikely that this was an accident.
McNair advises against tourists coming into close contact with elephants, citing concerns on both sides. (iStock/Getty Images)
“So why did this happen? Well, of course, because the elephant, which was, like almost all elephants in captivity for commercial exploitation, was kept in a completely unnatural condition, under extreme stress.”
He emphasized that although elephants are gentle and intelligent animals, their “calmness” does not mean that they are tamed. And they can react dramatically to any threat or stressor they perceive, even a well-intentioned tourist.
“Elephants are wild animals… They are kept in captivity after being brutally tamed,” McNair explained. “But that doesn’t mean they’ve been tamed. It just means they are terrified for a long time.
“When they see their chance or when they’re overwhelmed, they will attack and kill.”
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Elephant sanctuaries attract tourists with the chance to touch the elephants, but they can pose serious dangers. (iStock/Getty Images)
The animal rights activist noted that while elephants are “amazing and complex” herbivores, they will still react aggressively to a threat.
“They react, sometimes very strongly, to something flashing in the corner of their vision,” McNair explained. “So putting an elephant that has probably been abused in captivity for decades next to a young woman who probably has very little experience with elephants and no proper training is an absolute recipe for disaster.”
McNair, who also works as a corporate lawyer, also pointed out that the mistreatment of elephants begins before the animals even set foot in the sanctuaries. Elephants are often kidnapped by poachers who commit atrocities ranging from killing mothers in front of their children to repeatedly stabbing baby elephants into submission.
Elephants, though gentle, are dangerous to humans if abused. (iStock/Getty Images)
“Elephants that have been abused and mistreated for the purpose of tourism are extremely dangerous. … These actions are not only so disastrous for elephants, they are deadly for humans,” he said.
Through Save Asian Elephants, McNair has advocated for legislation to end animal cruelty, such as the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act, which was passed by the British Parliament in 2023. This work also recently led to him being named a 2024 Legal Hero by the Law Society of England and Wales.
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Now he and other animal rights activists are scrutinizing tour companies that encourage the unethical treatment of elephants. Some sanctuaries do treat elephants ethically, McNair said, and advised tourists to do their research before booking trips, both for their own safety and that of the elephants.
“(We want to) try to transition the animal tourism market from cruel to ethical,” McNair explained. “This is the real intention, not the closure of travel companies, nothing like that. This is to help animals and people who want to make money from animal tourism. … That’s fine, but be ethical.”
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