Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary
Thoughts on this place? I see reviews saying both that it is amazing also that it is immoral. We are trying to decide whether to visit. Thanks!
It depends on your point of view. If you subscribe to PETA's worldview that zoos should not exist and animals should not be kept for entertainment purposes then you may somehow think that viewing elephants in captivity is immoral.
Do bear in mind that Kuala Gandah is not a zoo, its run by the government, not a private entity for profit purposes and houses wild elephants that were relocated from areas where they were in conflict with human population or simply too old, young or dangerous to release back into the wild.
For me I think Kuala Gandah is fine to visit. But others may differ.
I liked the place - I will only go to animal experiences if I think they are ethical. They allow the elephants to roam the jungle and be as natural as they possibly can be - I think they have stopped the riding and bathing now which some people see as unethical- and I am happy not to do these things. The riding tho was bareback and to exercise them with their keeper. I didn’t see any problems there and I felt it was good for the elephants as they weren’t able to be put back in the wild.
They allow you to feed them freshly cut fruit and veggies - you are not allowed to go behind the fence in front of you while you feed and it’s really up to you if the elephant touches you.
I truely cannot understand why people still ride elephants on baskets that hurt these beautiful animals
Oh and it’s run a lot by donations so if you have a few spare bucks leave it at the sanctuary ;)
I liked it when I visited about 10 or so years ago. You could ride the elephants bareback (painful?) and bathe with them (fun) then, which I don't think happens anymore.
Agreed
Should close all zoo
Dont support zoo
Let animals be free
The issues with wild life, urbanization and development are real.
This is probably not the place to discuss this, as this is more of a travel forum.
However, just to insert a point, there have been incidents that wild elephants walked on to highways and were hit by cars and injured or killed. I think the sanctuary plays a positive role in all this.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJj1JSxNo7X/
My view is the sanctuary is ethical, and is a interesting visit.
But what if that "zoo" is to rehabilitate orphaned or injured elephants
