Elephant rides dropped over welfare fears

http://easytravelers.net/elephant-rides-dropped-welfare-fears/
Elephant rides dropped over welfare fears
Tours that offer the chance to live out Mowgli -design fantasies have fallen from favour whilst the business begins to react to stress from animal-rights groups to promote more responsible activities.
Intrepid, the adventure travel organization, this week became the second owner to announce it was removing elephant rides from its tours, following an earlier commitment from STA Travel to do so.
Intrepid came to the decision after considering research from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) into the welfare of captive elephants at entertainment venues in Asia.
A three-year study concluded that tourism demands had led to the development of locations where elephants are forced into unnatural shows that cause them pain and suffering.