"While elephant training can be brutal, the conservation project is not into those methods and the relationship of the elephants to their trainers is quite different than the methods portrayed in the post above."

Respectfully, Microdot, but that information is incorrect. Although the conservation camp may treat the animals well, now. The fact is that every single working elephant in Thailand goes through the phaajaan when they are babies. All of them. The ones at the conservation camp your wife was at went through that, all the elephants logging in the forest, the elephants on the streets of Bangkok, all elephants owned by man in Thailand go through the phaajaan. It is something that Thailand is not proud of, which is why the conservation camp does not talk about it, and why information about this practice is so little-known.

Lek is trying to change the way ALL elephants in Thailand are trained, and for that she has been silenced, persecuted and threatened.

I understand that this is a complex issue, but the facts need to be known.

Just as a horse is broken before it can be a tool for man, so must an elephant. But the immense power of the elephant, its intelligence and its willpower means that they way they are broken is brutal indeed.

Although this seems really great and fun, it's actually not. What those elephants had to go through to be trained in the first place is literally torture.

The traditional way in Thailand to train elephants is to break their spirit completely and totally so that they are mortally afraid of humans. The way this is done is with the "phaajaan." Baby elephants are captured, put into a pen that does not allow them to move side to side, forward, or sit, and then for 3-7 days everyone in the village takes turns breaking the animal using sticks with nails at the end, ropes and hot irons. Here's more info: http://www.helpthaielephants.com/village.html

and here's a video of it: (warning, heartbreaking and graphic)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AR_Zife-c

Elephants that 'paint' or 'play music' have all been trained in this fashion, in fact every single elephant you ride in Thailand has been treated in this way, and it's horrible. By supporting those tourist attractions, you are supporting the tortue of these amazing creatures.

Instead, when next visiting Thailand, or if you want to talk about elephants in Thailand, you should take a look at the Elephant Nature Park (http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/index.htm) and The Jumbo Express, which were started by Lek to save elephants that are old or injured. She is also working to create a new way to train elephants using positive reinforcement and love. Obviously these efforts are a threat to the traditions of Thailand, and yes, there are threats on her life because of this.

Do not ride elephants on those tourist treks. They are not weight bearing animals. Their spines are made to pull and push, but not to be ridden. And do not support 'parks' where elephants paint or play music. What the animals had to go through when they were young was horrible, and these are creatures that should be free to roam on their own and not be tied up and forced to perform.

At the Elephant Nature Park the only interaction guests have with the elephants is when we take them down to the river to wash them. They are not pets to be taught tricks. They are not beasts of burden to be ridden.