Hand-off Experience at Samui Elephant Kingdom

If you think you’re going to an ethical elephant sanctuary you are wrong. This place is basically an elephant petting zoo. Preparing food and walking on the skywalk was very nice, however we were let into their enclosure afterwards to touch the elephants. They were lined up for us to pet and take pictures with. If you know anything about elephant welfare you would know that this is absolutely not in the animals best interest. The elephants are wild animals and should be treated as such. The way we were allowed to touch the elephants also suggests that they are being trained to do so. The elephants NEVER had any free time since our guide informed us that they have tourists groups multiple times a day everyday of the week. We weren’t told anything substantial about the background of the “rescued” elephants and close to nothing about their wellbeing or safety precautions.