Bali traveller's sad plea over controversial tourist attraction: 'Stop paying'
A British woman living in Bali has asked tourists not to visit elephant parks, but a longtime owner disputes accusations that his park is not ethical.
A British woman living in Bali has urged travellers not to visit wildlife parks on the island, specifically those that brand themselves as "sanctuaries", arguing that "wild animals deserve to be in the wild".
"Stop paying to see elephants as attractions," she implored tourists who visit the popular destination.
However Nigel Mason, owner of the Mason Elephant Park in Bali, hit back at the sentiment, arguing his facility provides a necessary home for rescued elephants and is audited yearly.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Mason argued that many critically endangered animals "can't all survive in the environment that they were originally created in" thanks to the impact of people, growing human population and the consequences of urban sprawl, such as deforestation.
"All our animals were rescued from camps in Sumatra, where they were critically endangered," he said. "They wouldn't have been around if we didn't rescue them. You've got to realise that many of these animals, particularly the Sumatran elephant in our case, are critically endangered.
"They need protection and it's all well and good to say, 'oh, they should all be in the wild' — that's fine. Of course they should be in the wild. But for a lot of these species, the wild is gone, particularly in places like Sumatra, where they've devastated the whole island."
Mason said when it comes to wild animals in zoological parks or sanctuaries, there's "always going to be a level of criticism" from within the community, which he himself is no stranger to, but said it's important that people make sure they are checking establishments are "doing all the right things" first.
In 2022, an image showing two tourists riding an elephant at his park went viral online, with some animal advocates branding the scene as simply cruel.
World Animal Protection group reviews Bali's wildlife parks
In 2023, a report conducted by World Animal Protection Australia found "no venues housing elephants, tigers, dolphins, or civet cats" in Bali met the animals’ basic needs.
It said the Mason Elephant Park did "show some minor signs of improvement" but stated "in short, their efforts have been too minimal to call them ethical".
Wildlife sanctuaries a divisive topic of debate
Online this week Hollie, a UK national living in Bali, urged people against visiting elephant parks in region altogether, saying "elephants are wild animals and as such deserve to be in the wild". "Elephants here are not rescued, and they're not treated like rescues," the woman claimed.
"How many times do I have to say it?
"Elephants are not there for our viewing pleasure, they're certainly not there for our riding pleasure. We should not be f***ing riding elephants, it's 2024 ... Instagram is not more important than the welfare of these f***ing animals."
However Mason disputes his park is unethical. He said the amount of time he's been in business proves that. "We've been here since 1997 and I think that sort of speaks for itself, really," Mason said, adding that it is audited by the Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES) each year.
"They go into more than 200 criteria to check us out. They don't just check on the elephants, they check on the staffing as well, they want to know how you run your company and whether the staff are treated well and paid properly too."
As for tourists, he says everyone should de their own research before attending such businesses. "I think it's really a matter of research," he told Yahoo. "People have got to go to the website, look at it thoroughly before they decide to come. I think that's most important. And of course, with that comes reputation — there's no real way they can tell without actually doing that."
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Why are wild animal experiences controversial?
Whether it’s riding elephants, taking selfies with tigers, or swimming with dolphins, interacting with captive wild animals is shunned by many. Even cuddling koalas could be causing them stress.
Australian travel company Flight Centre maintains a “look but don’t touch approach” to exotic animal encounters it allows to be advertised on its website, while Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia also have restrictions.
A number of animal parks in Bali do house animals in cruel conditions, although there are some signs the Indonesian government is taking action. Notable efforts include a crackdown on turtle poachers, and the confiscation of dolphins and other wildlife from the Melka Hotel.
Mason concedes methods used to train elephants in some other wildlife parks are cruel, particularly those documented in Thailand, but his sanctuary instead adopted a no-punishment approach. They fired six of the original mahout elephant trainers due to concerns about their conduct, and maintain a strict policy of terminating any employee who is cruel to the animals.
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