ECC elephant welfare policy
Our Policy at ECC is based on best practices and rely heavily on the “Five Animal Freedoms” (Source: OIE International)
1. Freedom from malnutrition
- by providing ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from thermal and physical discomfort
- by providing an appropriate environment including shelter, shade, access to bathing facilities and social interaction with other elephants.
3. Freedom from injury or disease
by providing :
- Experienced mahouts or keepers who can handle the elephants without causing injury.
- Preventative health care.
- Access to veterinary care.
4. Freedom from fear and stress
- by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
- Limited use of bull hook (ankus), and efforts made to phase out its use by adopting positive reinforcement training techniques.
- Minimize public contact.
- Elephants free to move at will, escape and find refuge.
- Maintain elephants in social groups when at rest.
- Elephants should not be tethered except for welfare reasons.
5. Freedom to express normal patterns of behavior
- By providing sufficient space and areas where elephants are able and encouraged to dig, bathe, dive, forage, dust bathe etc and company of other elephants ideally in a social structure of mixed sex and age.