Come 2020 and there will be no more elephant rides at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

In a welcome move, Cambodia is on its way to elephant rides at the Angkor Wat, its most famous attraction. The Buddhist temple complex here is the largest religious monument in the world and sees steady droves of tourists coming in all year. It is estimated that a whopping 2.5 million tourists visit the monument each year; a considerable number of these tourists often sign up elephant rides as well.

An announcement regarding the ban has been made by the Angkor Elephant Group Committee, which has also been urged to let go of the 14 elephants that are currently used to give rides at the temple complex. The move has come in the wake of an elephant’s death in 2016, as it collapsed after giving tourists ride in soaring temperatures. One of the vets attributed “high temperatures, heat exhaustion and lack of wind that would have helped to cool her” as the cause of death. The horrific incident led to outrage around the world, as pleas were made to stop animal abuse.
While not every tourist signing up for these rides is knowing of the state these animals are kept in, it is no secret that most of these animals are trained forcibly and separated from their natural surroundings. Most of the training techniques used on the animals are violent and against their natural instincts; plus, the exhausting and rigorous number of hours that the animals are forced to work.

The Angkor Elephant Group Committee Director Oan Kiry issued a statement on the move, "In early 2020, our association plans to end the use of elephants to transport tourists… They can still watch the elephants and take photos of them in our conservation and breeding center. We want the elephants to live in as natural a manner as possible.”
Wildlife workers, animal rights organisations, and travellers interested in sustainable tourism practices have hailed the decision, and rightly so. This might just prompt an end to using animals as attractions across many tourist attractions around the world, signalling a positive change.