(TAN): Around 1,000 elephants in Thailand face starvation after the coronavirus pandemic dealt a severe blow to the country’s tourism industry, reports said.
According to reports, closure of borders to tourists and extensive lockdown have led to caretakers struggling to pay for Thailand’s 4,000 captive elephants’ food. The sector accounted for 21.6% of Thailand’s total Gross Domestic Product in 2018, as per data from the World Travel & Tourism Council.
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Founder of the Thai nonprofit Save Elephant Foundation, Lek Chailert, reportedly said the animals will starve to death if they do not receive immediate help.
“If there is no support forthcoming to keep them safe, these elephants, some of whom are pregnant, will either starve to death or may be put on the streets to beg. It’s a very bleak outlook unless some financial help is received immediately,” she was quoted by BBC as saying.
Each of these animals can reportedly consume up to 440 pounds of food per day; and with no revenue coming in, feeding the elephants has become a daunting task. The challenge is aggravated as the country is in the middle of dry season, which makes it tougher to find food for the elephants, reports said.
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Kerri McCrea, who manages the Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary in northern Thailand’ in Mae Chaem, reportedly said there is a shortage of food for the animals.
“Feeding elephants is a priority but the issue is that there’s not enough forest left to feed them,” McCrea was quoted by New York Post as saying.
“The worst-case scenario is that owners will have to choose between themselves and their elephants. The people here don’t have much, but they’re doing what it takes to keep the elephants alive for now,” she added.
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