22 year old tourist killed by a stressed elephant in Thailand, the cruel price of the animal business

A young woman in Thailand Spanish touristBlanca Ojanguren García, is tragically deceased following a accident with an elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre, located in Phang Nga province. Blanca, 22 years old, was in the center for wash the animal when the elephant, apparently in a state of great stress, he gored her to death.

The dramatic incident, which occurred last Friday, was confirmed by local authorities, who underlined the animal’s possible state of panic. Blanca was a law and international relations student at the University of Navarra, Spain, and was in Asia for a student exchange program in Taiwan.

During a tourist visit to Thailand with her boyfriend, they both went to the center to participate in one of the proposed activities, very popular among tourists: bathing elephants. Unfortunately this experience it turned into a tragedy before the eyes of his companion and the other visitors present.

These tour packages cause stress to the animals

The Spanish authorities, through the consulate in Bangkok, are providing support to Blanca’s family, while many in Spain have expressed their condolences for the loss. Among these, the mayor of Valladolid shared a message of condolences on social media.

The Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre, like many others in Thailand, delivers tourist packages which allow visitors to interact directly with the elephants, including activities such as feeding the animals and bathing them.

Activities that have repeatedly been criticized by animal rights activists. Organizations like World Animal Protection argue that these types of interactions they can cause considerable stress to elephantsaltering their natural behaviors and putting both animals and tourists at risk.

Thailand is famous for its elephants, with a population of over 4,000 wild elephants and a similar number in captivity, often used in the tourism industry. While incidents involving wild elephants are relatively common, incidents involving captive animals and tourists at sanctuaries are rarer. However, this episode highlights the risks associated with such activities and has reignited the debate on the need to improve the living conditions of elephants and review the tourism practices that involve them.