Hi everyone.
Before this video starts,
I do want to make a disclaimer that when we
were filming this video we were visiting
the Chiang Mai Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.
There were a lot of things we didn't know,
and, I don't want you to jump to the
conclusion that this is an ethical
sanctuary because we are making a video
about it, but I do want to draw your
attention to a couple things that I will mention
at the end of the video, and you are able
to decide if you want to pay a visit to
the sanctuary or not.
Because it may or may not be a good idea.
So, with that being said, enjoy this video
enjoy the super cute elephants.
They were so beautiful and I don't want to take
away from that until the end.
So stay tuned.
Hey, it's Shae, and Marissa, and... (to elephant) it's your turn
That's Miguel, he's a little shy
And we are at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand!
Wow, we almost got through that!
(Elephant Sneezes) Oh! Excuse you!
Alright, everyone
Now that you watched that and saw how much fun
we had at the Chiang Mai Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
I do want to talk about a couple things.
Marissa and I both went to this location
of the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary after
doing a ton of research trying to find a
more ethical sanctuary than ones that we
have previously known about.
We went into it really, really paying attention
to details and paying attention to the
way that the trainers were acting with the
elephants and we wanted to make sure
that we wanted to support and recommend
that you guys go to as well and pay
money to support the company.
Like, we are giving money to this company and
paying for whatever they are doing to these animals.
After going to the Chiang Mai location
that this was an elephant
sanctuary that we wanted to support,
my family came for Christmas to Phuket, Thailand
which is south of Thailand.
We had heard once we were at the other location
that they had just recently opened this location,
and this is where my entire mindset switched
because I know
Phuket is a very touristy place it is known
to be one of the most, if not the most,
touristy spot in Thailand where people
don't go to visit elephant sanctuaries that are ethical,
they don't, they don't understand.
When we got to the Phuket location,
things were a lot different and I was a little in shock.
Hence why I don't have a lot of footage.
As soon as we rolled up and I saw that
the elephants were encaged...
I was freaking out.
The thing that worries me and the reason that I'm talking about this is because
I'm not sure sure if the Chiang Mai location knows
about what's going on at the Phuket location,
I don't know if this is going on at the Chiang Mai location
and they're just really good at hiding it.
The entire name of Elephant Jungle Sanctuary is associated
with the things are going on
at the Phuket location and for that reason,
speaking for myself and I'm sure a lot of ethical vegans, um,
my money will not be going to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.
At the Phuket location there were a lot of red flags going on
I wrote an entire blog post about this on VeganTravel with a lot of details.
I will put that in the link below.
They couldn't tell me why the elephants were in cages,
they couldn't tell me why the elephants were tied up,
and here goes Shaedyn getting fired up,
In a normal situation where they haven't been completely tamed and made submissive
they would not interact well with humans, like,
they are wild animals.
Human interaction should not be a necessary thing.
When I go up to an elephant to look at it in the face because it can't get away from me
'cause it's in a cage (Phuket)
you shouldn't yell commands that it has learned in circus training
so that it kisses me on the cheek.
That's not what I'm here for, I'm not here to be entertained.
I'm trying to figure out why this giant elephant swaying, side to side.
But then you do a little Google search and you figure out that it is a sign of psychosis
because they have no way of moving when they're in captivity.
This elephant was trapped, this elephant could not leave,
and this elephant was a source of income and money for another tourist attraction in Phuket.
Also, fun fact:
um, you know a little thing or two about speciesism?
Well, let me tell ya,
when you decide to have a sanctuary to protect one kind of animal
and then you go out and kill and feed a different kind of animal to the group of people taking care of the
protected animal-- that's speciesism.
If you feed us meat, your volunteers, meat at lunch please tell me how that makes sense.
Alright, this is the end of this video.
Please draw your own conclusions,
read my blog post below.
I really don't want this to be a negative video and this has definitely been
a big eye-opener for myself
and I want you guys to realize
that ethical tourism is a thing and it is necessary.
There are so many ways to go around tourism ethically and I feel like
doing your research is crucial in this
to make sure that you're not voting with your money for something that is not good.
I will see you guys in the next video,
and have fun, traveling the world, doing ethical things, being a great tourist.
Alright this is, wow, this is going nowhere
I got very into this and now I don't know how to get out.
I will see you guys at the next destination.
Goodbye!