A few months ago, we told you the story of Boon Dee – a Thai elephant forced into 30 years of back-breaking labor in the tourist camps of Pattaya. Day after excruciating day, this poor animal carted endless loads of tourists on her aching back.
By the time she was rescued by our partner, Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), Boon Dee was emaciated and nearly blind in her right eye, and her skin was marred by deep, painful abscesses.
Our dream for Boon Dee is a beautiful oasis to call her own. While some funds have been raised, we’re shy of our goal – and that’s why we are reaching out to you today.
Boon Dee survived 30 years of horrific abuse in Thailand.
With your help, we will give her the happy final years she deserves.
One of the “taming” practices to break elephants into submission and prepare them for the tourism industry. Credit: Elephant Voices
An estimated 3,000 Asian elephants – much smaller than their African counterparts – live like prisoners in entertainment venues across Thailand.
Through desperation, ignorance or simple indifference, people use these animals as little more than money-making machines, usually keeping them chained up, and controlling them through regular, brutal beatings.
Elephants are forced to work long hours in debilitating heat without rest. Constant, agonizing pressure from carrying tourists on their backs leads to permanent, excruciating damage to their spines. Some elephants suffer this way for decades – like Boon Dee.
Until she was saved, this tragic animal had not experienced kindness in nearly 30 years.
As she was led to freedom, Boon Dee resisted with all her might, no doubt expecting even more excruciating abuse.
Boon Dee took her first steps to freedom with great fear and anxiety – but then something miraculous happened. Credit: WFFT
During her first walk in her new sanctuary, she approached another rescued elephant named Gan Da. The team discovered they had worked together at a riding camp in Chiang Rai many years before, and Boon Dee immediately recognized her old friend.
Help give Boon Dee the retirement she dreams of – after 30 years of hard labor.
In her new home, Boon Dee discovered something that she never had the chance to find out before – she loves to swim!
But accessing the water is a terrifying prospect for Boon Dee.
Sadly, due to years of trauma, Boon Dee is afraid of the other elephants, even her old friend Gan Da. As naturally social creatures, this fear underscores her deep physical and psychological scars.
Boon Dee loves swimming. We dream of giving her a pool of her very own, to enjoy to her heart’s delight in her golden years. Credit: WFFT
While this sweet girl gets two lovely, long “walks” a day with her carers, there is one thing that would make her life complete: a large enclosure with permanent access to her very own lake, so she can swim whenever her heart desires.
Nothing brings this sweet elephant more joy than her daily swims, and with your help, we can build her the retirement home of her dreams.
