An elephant who was forced to take tourists on her back around Cambodia’s Angkor Wat died after her last trip. Now, animal rights activists are now circulating a petition to stop this practice, saying that this is an example of animal abuse.
According to the Mirror, the elephant, Sambo, made two 40 minute trips around Angkor Wat in 40 degree Celsius temperatures last Friday morning. After her second trip, she collapsed and never got up. She was around 40-45 years old, and had been working with the Angkor Elephant Company since 2001.
The company’s manager cited this as the cause of death: “After our veterinarian checked. . . we concluded that she died of heart attack due to high temperatures and lack of wind.” Photos of Elderly Sambo’s dead body lying in the sand have since circulated on social media.
As a result, the Huffington Post reports, animal rights groups are calling for an end to elephant rides, putting pressure on travel companies and tourists to not offer/engage in such attractions. They’re also calling on Trip Advisor not promote this practice. That’s due to allegations that these elephants are often abused in training, and that having to walk constantly in hot temperatures is cruel.
A Change.org petition asks the APSARA Authority, which runs Angkor Wat, to end elephant ridese at the religious shrine. It’s been signed by over 40,000 supporters.
(via Mirror, Huffington Post and Change.org)
