Minerva is working with the not-for profit STAE in their campaign to stop the advertising and promotion of tourist destinations that rely on the pain and suffering of this abused and endangered species.

The founder of STAE, Duncan McNair, explains: “Baby and calf Asian elephants are taken from the wild, tortured and abused to ‘break their sprits’ in a process called ‘pajan’ for easy use in tourist attractions and for close-up encounters.”

Captured Asian elephants, malnourished and fiercely tethered in isolation and filthy conditions, become provoked when forced to perform tricks and allow rides, resulting in injuries to and deaths of tourists. The brutal reality of torturing these endangered animals will inevitably continue as the travel industry’s marketing campaign to SE Asian destinations resumes as international travel restrictions are lifted