About Us

Elephants throughout Southeast Asia need help from donors. The number of elephants is declining in all regions, and injuries and deaths are increasing due to overwork and abuse as well as conflict between free-ranging elephants and humans. As board members of a foundation that supports elephant care and conservation, we have seen how difficult it is to manage an organization dedicated to helping elephants in their native countries. We believe that the lessons learned from our individual work with various elephant projects offer guidance and insight that will help our board and donors evaluate choices for their contributions to the care of individual elephants and the future of the species.

Asian Elephant Support (AES) is a U.S. Non-profit foundation dedicated to the care and conservation of Asian elephants in their range countries, and to the people whose lives are intertwined with this magnificent and endangered species.

Best Animal Care Practices

Best practices comprise five essential aspects of elephant care: veterinary care, nutrition, daily husbandry, the training of both elephants and mahouts, and housing. These best practices are described below. More details of best practices can be found in one of the most respected elephant medical textbooks, "Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of Elephants" by Murray E. Fowler and Susan K. Mikota, Blackwell Publishing (2006).

Veterinary Care

A qualified veterinarian is the foundation of good health care and has a direct impact on the elephant's health and well-being. A resident veterinarian is the best of all worlds, but many camps have too few elephants to justify a full-time veterinarian. Nearly as effective is a veterinarian who makes regular visits to provide preventative care, perform rigorous examinations of all elephants, and is on 24-hour call for emergencies. Nearly all range countries with Asian elephants, including India and Thailand, have excellent programs for training and licensing veterinarians, so over most of Asia it is possible to provide proper medical care even to elephants in remote camps and sanctuaries.

Nutrition

The feeding behavior of wild elephants is our best guidance for feeding them in captivity. Caretakers of captive elephants (mahouts) should replicate natural feeding opportunities as closely as possible. Because wild elephants can eat for 14 to 18 hours a day, elephants should be allowed to feed during the long hours of idle time rather than being chained with nothing to eat or manipulate. Elephants working in the tourist industry are sometimes rewarded with excessive amounts of high-sugar foods from tourists. While enjoyable for elephants and people alike, such foods are contrary to the elephant's natural diet of high-roughage, low-calorie grasses. Large quantities of fruits and vegetables should not be fed other than as a component of medical care and as rewards in training. All food sources should be free of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals to avoid food contamination. Elephants may enjoy carbohydrates, such as rice or bread, but starchy foods should be used sparingly. Just as with people, high caloric intake can produce excessive weight gain, which is a contributing factor to debilitating conditions such as arthritis and foot problems. Finally, foods not available in the wild (or eaten only rarely) lack the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients necessary for good health, so when in our care, the goal is to give them what they need to stay healthy.

Daily Care

Providing clean drinking water, a proper diet, opportunities for social interactions, and regular training sessions along with daily baths, and maintaining healthy skin and feet are all important aspects of daily care. Elephants are intelligent and social creatures. In the wild, older elephants teach and discipline calves so they know their place in the family unit. In captivity, mahouts must help create and nurture social relationships that enable elephants to interact with one another safely. Regular training sessions provide mental and physical stimulation. It also develops trust between the mahout and elephant, allowing medical care to be provided with as little stress to the elephant as possible. Daily baths are important for skin care and it is also an opportunity to check the elephant's skin and feet for abrasions or cuts that may need medical attention.

Training

Training is twofold, for mahouts and elephants.

Training the mahout: Traditionally in Asia, the art of elephant handling and care was passed down from father to son. Unfortunately, in many places the job of mahout has become a lowly occupation. Many times the position is only taken when one cannot find another type of work and is often taken without any real elephant knowledge. However, there are renewed efforts to reestablish respect for the role of the mahout and to develop the knowledge of the mahout. The goal is to build long lasting relationships with the mahouts and make them aware that they have been entrusted with a crucial role in protecting a vanishing resource, an endangered species that has been part of human history for centuries. Instead of accepting a low level of expertise as satisfactory, it is essential that mahouts receive continual training in the care and management of elephants. A well trained staff manager and qualified teachers are prerequisites for building a strong team of skilled mahouts who value and feel proud of their job. Ideally, these teachers should be experienced mahouts. However, if an experienced mahout is not available, another option is western elephant handlers who practice proper elephant care and appreciate the history and culture of the mahout. Providing the opportunity to build English speaking skills and other educational opportunities, helps the mahouts see their work as a career and not just a job. Only knowledgeable mahouts and managers can ensure the well-being of elephants in their care and help ensure the future of the species.

Training the elephant: In the wild an elephant is taught from birth by its mother and aunts in the elephant family. Social structure and hierarchy is clearly delineated among adults and these boundaries are critical for survival. In captivity, training is important so that people and elephants may live together safely. It is also necessary for the health and well-being of the elephants. Training helps the elephants smoothly and efficiently follow commands for behaviors needed to receive medical care and daily husbandry. Basic commands, such as holding the mouth open for an oral examination, holding a foot up for examination, or holding still for wound care are key elements of good elephant husbandry. In addition, many elephants respond positively to training for mental stimulation and physical challenge.

Housing

Proper housing for elephants depends on many variables including age, health, temperament, group structure, temperature, and seasonal weather. Shelters should have good drainage, fresh water supply, protection from sun and rain, floors that can be cleaned easily, a strategy for removal of dung, and, if possible, electrical access for use in an emergency.

AES and Best Practices

All of these best practices represent ideal targets for elephant facilities and sanctuaries and the foundations that support them. No one place may fully satisfy all ideals; however, the lesson we learned in evaluating facilities and sanctuaries is to consider whether they aspire to such best practices. The mission of AES is to support these aspirations in elephant care.

Legal Compliance

U.S. contributions to foreign organizations are required to be carefully scrutinized by board members. A major consequence of such scrutiny is that AES cannot simply make blind grants to sanctuaries or other organizations. While funding any foreign organization is possible, AES is inclined to give grants to foreign organizations that are also registered non-profits because like AES they face similar requirements and like AES they are legally bound to use funds exclusively for elephant care. Further, foreign non-profits face requirements similar to those of AES such as having a board of directors, meetings, and open financial statements.

U.S. tax law disallows tax deductions for contributions to U.S. charities if those charities are acting as "mere conduits" of funds to foreign entities/organizations. In determining whether or not a charity is a "mere conduit" to foreign organizations, U.S. tax law carefully scrutinizes whether the donor exercises sufficient "discretion and control" over funds and charitable gifts contributed. Government guidelines exist to help board members determine whether their actions towards foreign programs and foreign projects qualify for legitimate tax deductions. Two criteria from the tax law stand out: (a) the specific project to be carried out by the foreign organization must fulfill the mission of the domestic charity, and (b) the domestic charity must not be a passive conduit of earmarked funds. The acid test is whether the U.S. charity such as the AES, is the actual, working recipient of contributions, demonstrating bona fide control and discretion over the use of its funds by the recipient foreign entity. The following two factors are usually stated as signs that these requirements are met: first, the U.S. charity receives periodic accountings to assure that funds are used exactly as intended and, second, the board members maintain control of the funds at all times, including the right/power to withdraw the intention to fund if the conditions of the gift are not met.

While our concern is only U.S. tax law, such regulations are common in Western countries. Canada, Australia, and the UK all have in place restrictions and demands when domestically-raised charitable funds are gifted to foreign entities/organizations

Summary

Contributors to a foundation's mission must be confident that their contributions both will be used to meet the expressed goals of the foundation and are compliant with tax law. At Asian Elephant Support, the goal of helping elephants is organically linked to both its code of best practices and its strict supervision over funds as per compliance requirements. We want our donors confident that we value their financial support and their gifts will meet our Mission Statement's objectives following our Best Practices guidelines while impeccably following U.S. tax law.