The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary opened a few months after we arrived, there are only three proper ethical ones in the entire country. You can visit here for an afternoon or morning and see the elephants in their natural environments. There is no bathing them, crowding them, touching them and certainly no riding. They rescue working elephants from all around Thailand to retire here. The first bit of the program we learnt about elephants in Thailand, it just hurt my heart so much. I knew that elephants were 'trained' somehow to perform in shows, be ridden, work in logging but I had no idea the extent of the torture they are put through. It is sickening. The sanctuary in Phuket now has nine elephants, all with horrific stories and all looking so happy now.
All the money they raise from visitors and all donations go to trying to buy more elephants (usually costs them $75, 000 to rescue one animal as they have to buy them). I learnt loads about elephants and know that most people who visit places to ride or bath them do not realise what these animals go through, but please never ever do it! Additionally, it is the best run facility that I have seen so far in Thailand, well worth a visit.
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