THAILAND: Land mines Threaten Elephants

Thailand - More than 100 elephants hauling logs on the Thai-Burmese border are in constant danger, as one step in the wrong direction could injure or even kill them.

The danger is buried underground. Countless landmines are death traps for elephants caught in the wild and trained to carry out the toughest of tasks - bringing logs out of the deep jungles on the Burmese side of the border. The landmines were laid because of the longstanding military clashes between minority rebels and the Burmese army.

But the casualties are not restricted to humans. In the past 10 years, many elephants have been injured by landmines buried along the Thai-Burmese border in Tak's Mae Sot district.

The lure of high pay for hauling logs has exposed the elephants to this life-threatening danger. Each mahout receives 30,000-40,000 baht per elephant per month for hauling the logs. But they must find food for the elephants themselves.

"Over the past five years, more and more elephants have been wounded by landmines," said veterinarian Preecha Puangkham, director of the medical section at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang's Hang Chat district.

Since the hospital was opened in 1993, it has provided treatment to 2,825 elephants, said Dr Preecha. At present, 447 elephants have been admitted to the in-patient wards and 20 need special treatment. The out-patients number almost 400.

Dr Preecha said some elephants "decommissioned" from the job of log-hauling were taken to resorts to entertain tourists.

Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation, said the elephant population has dwindled and there are believed to be only 3,000, including in the wild, left in the country. (Source: Bangkok Post, Jun. 28 2008)