Beggars are taken to tusk in Bangkok

Published on Monday 12 July 2010 15:52

AUTHORITIES in the Thai capital Bangkok have said anyone caught handing bunches of bananas or sugar cane to elephants - proffered by their handlers in a ruse to make money - faces a $320 fine.

Thailand has about 2,400 domestic elephants.

There is little demand these days for the animals' traditional skills in logging and other labour, so owners sometimes loan them out for begging from tourists and locals in major cities.

"The ordinance is issued to prevent untidiness or danger toward properties and lives of Bangkok residents," said Manit Techa-apichoke, deputy director of the City Law Enforcement Department. He added that cases had been reported where elephants had injured people in the streets and fallen into drains.

Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE), a Thai group which cares for injured or mistreated elephants, said the fines were not "a total solution", but a good start.

Previously, mahouts - as elephant handlers are known - and their accomplices were fined for bringing an elephant into Bangkok, but those feeding the animal escaped punishment.

FAE founder Soraida Salwalla said authorities had caught 30 elephants in Bangkok the past four months, but none since the new ordinance came into effect on 1 July. However, it warned that handlers were finding ways to circumvent the crackdown, such as moving into the suburbs.