Imagine this: You and your family are riding on elephants. It seems fun. It makes you feel like you are high up in the sky. Not just that, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery while it carry you like a ‘king.’ There are many places, especially tourist attractions, where you can find elephants to be your ride.
But..stop! Do not do it!
Do you know that elephants are not meant to be ridden by humans? Of course, they weigh much more than humans. However, their spines extend upwards, which are not designed for them to carry humans.
That is not the only reason. According to PETA, you should not support the idea of riding on elephants because:
1) They are separated from their families when they are still babies.
2) When in captivity, they need to start on immediate training. Let us inform you the harsh truth of the training: It is brutal and vicious.
3) Do you think only humans can be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? Animals can too, and elephants are one of them. Most of these captured animals are diagnosed with PTSD.
4) They naturally live in herds and can roam around freely. Once they become captives, they have to endure small areas to roam around.
Above are to list a few reasons.
There has been a case where an elephant in Thailand suffered from a ‘caved-in’ back after years of carrying tourists.
You do not want this to happen to other elephants, do you? Thus, let’s not ride on them.