Vietnam Central Highlands tourist center halts exploitative elephant rides

The Buon Don Suspension Bridge tourist center in Dak Lak province has announced it will halt all elephant rides from February 10, and offer only photo and feeding opportunities.

The center is located about 45 kilometers northwest of Buon Ma Thuot town's center in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

"This is the first unit to do this. By 2026, the province will stop all elephant riding services for tourists in line with the Dak Lak People's Committee's instructions," Tran Xuan Phuoc, director of the Dak Lak Center for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management, told local media on Friday.

Phuoc said that instead of riding an elephant, visitors could take photos with them, or feed the animals, visit long houses, learn about indigenous customs, listen to gongs, and drink can wine.

According to the Dak Lak Center for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management, the province still has about 80 wild elephants living in the Yok Don National Park, 37 domestic elephants, 22 of which are in Buon Don district.

In 2018, Animals Asia provided $65,000 to end elephant rides in the Yok Don National Park. The purpose is to replace all elephant rides with a more friendly tourism model. Herds of domestic elephants would be preserved and taken care of.

Tourism centers are provided with technical support to convert to an elephant-friendly tourism model, and to establish cooperatives to manage and operate elephant-friendly services in Lak district. Education and awareness raising activities on elephant protection and conservation will be popularized and promoted across communities.