Thai police have charged a mahout after an elephant in his care gored a Spanish tourist to death last week. Theerayut Inthaphudkij, 38, was charged with negligence causing death, local authorities said Monday. The tourist, 22-year-old Blanca Ojanguren García, was bathing the elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in southern Thailand when she was attacked by the animal. This incident has reignited concerns over Thailand’s thriving elephant tourism industry, which has long been criticized by animal rights groups as unethical and perilous.
Activists argue that elephant bathing disrupts natural grooming behaviors and poses a risk of injury to the animals, subjecting them to undue stress. Following the attack, experts suggested that the elephant may have been stressed due to the interaction with tourists. García suffered a head injury and tragically succumbed to her wounds in the hospital after the 45-year-old female elephant, Phang Somboon, pushed her with its tusk. García’s boyfriend, who was present during the attack, witnessed the harrowing event.
It is estimated that nearly 3,000 elephants are held in tourist attractions across Thailand, as reported by the international charity World Animal Protection. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement to the BBC, emphasizing the risks posed by such incidents to both humans and animals. PETA’s senior vice president, Jason Baker, condemned any facility that allows close human-elephant interactions, stating that it endangers the lives of both tourists and animals.
Similar cases of negligence leading to fatalities have been documented in the past, with mahouts facing charges when their elephants have harmed tourists. In 2017, an elephant camp owner and a mahout were charged with recklessness causing death and injuries after an elephant killed a Chinese tour guide and injured two tourists in Pattaya, a popular Thai beach town. Additionally, in 2013, a 27-year-old elephant had its tusks removed following a fatal attack on a woman.
García, a student of law and international relations at the University of Navarra in Spain, was participating in a student exchange program in Taiwan. She and her boyfriend had arrived in Thailand on December 26, 2024. Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, confirmed that the Spanish consulate in Bangkok was providing support to García’s family during this difficult time.
The tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the uncertainties surrounding Thailand’s elephant tourism sector. As authorities continue to investigate the circumstances leading to García’s death, questions loom over the welfare and treatment of elephants in such facilities. The call for stricter regulations and ethical practices in the management of captive elephants resonates across conservation and animal rights circles, urging a reevaluation of the industry’s impact on both humans and wildlife.
