An expert on Asian elephants is sounding the alarm about ‘elephant reserves’ after a tourist was killed while visiting one in Thailand.
Blanca Ojanguren GarcĂa, 22, a law student at the University of Navarra, died last week. She was washing an elephant at Koh Yao Elephant Care when the 50-year-old animal killed her with its trunk, Spanish media said.
There were about 18 people in the shelter at the time, including the victim’s friend, the company told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. No other visitors were injured and details about 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 to the animals, really are.
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There are concerns about elephant tourism after a Spanish student was murdered last week. (iStock/Getty Images)
Duncan McNair, the CEO of a London-based charity Save the Asian elephants, spoke to Fox News Digital about the tragedy and warned that tourists should think twice before visiting.
“‘Sanctuary,’ kind of like ‘paradises’ and ‘orphanages,’ is a very nasty term that usually has no meaning or certainly no accuracy,” McNair said. “The the vast majority of shrines in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Cambodia… are not ethical. They are brutal and do it all for money.”
It is still unknown why the elephant struck GarcĂa, or how the sanctuary handlers treated the creature before the killing. But McNair said that while it is possible the elephant was unaware of its strength, it was more likely that it was lashing out against the conditions in which it was kept.
“(The trunk) is an extremely diverse and durable organ that is multifunctional,” explains McNair. ‘An elephant doesn’t just swing its trunk back and forth. … It is completely unlikely that this was an accident.
McNair advises tourists against coming into close contact with elephants, citing concerns for both parties. (iStock/Getty Images)
“So why did it happen? Well, of course, because the elephant, which like virtually all elephants was in captivity for commercial exploitation, was kept in a completely unnatural state, in extreme stress.”
He emphasized that while elephants are gentle and intelligent animals, their “calmness” does not mean they have been tamed. And they can absorb any threat or stressor they perceive, even a well-meaning tourist.
“Elephants are wild animals. … They are held in captivity after being violently forced into submission,” McNair explained. “But that doesn’t mean they’re tamed. It just means they’re terrified for a while.
“When they see their chance, or when they are overstressed, they will attack and kill.”
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Elephant sanctuaries lure tourists with the opportunity to touch elephants, but they can pose serious risks. (iStock/Getty Images)
The animal rights activist noted that although elephants are “prodigious and complex” herbivores, they will still respond aggressively when threatened.
“They react, sometimes extremely, when something flashes across the corner of their vision,” explains McNair. “And so it’s an absolute recipe for disaster to place an elephant that has probably been abused in captivity for decades, right next to a young woman who probably has very little experience with elephants and no proper training. “
McNair, who also works as a corporate lawyer, also noted that abuse of elephants begins before the animals set foot in sanctuaries. Elephants are often snatched by poachers who commit atrocities ranging from killing mothers in front of their children to repeatedly stabbing baby elephants into submission.
Although elephants are gentle, they are dangerous to humans if mistreated. (iStock/Getty Images)
“Elephants that have been mistreated and abused for use in tourism are extremely dangerous. … Not only are these activities so catastrophic for the elephants, they are also fatally dangerous for humans,” he said.
Through Save the Asian Elephants, McNair has advocated for legislation to stop abuses against the animals, such as the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act passed in the British Parliament in 2023. This work has also recently led to him being named Legal Hero of the Year 2024 by the Law Society of England and Wales.
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Now he and other animal activists are investigating tourism companies that encourage the unethical treatment of elephants. Some sanctuaries treat elephants ethically, McNair said, and he advised tourists to do their research before booking their trips, both for their own safety and the safety of the elephants.
“(We want) to try to move the pet tourism market from brutal to ethical,” explains McNair. “That’s the real intention, not to close down travel companies, nothing like that. It’s to help the animals and to help people who want to make money from animal tourism. … That’s fine, but be ethical about it.”
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