An angry elephant has reportedly torn its owner in half with its tusks after being forced to work in hot weather in Thailand’s Phang Nga province.
Officers from the Takua Thung Police Station in Tha Yu subdistrict responded to a call about the elephant owner’s death around 11:30 am Wednesday.
Upon arrival, authorities were informed that Pom Pam, a 20-year-old male elephant, had torn his owner, 32-year-old Supachai Wongfaed, to pieces.
Rescue workers, officials and the village head went to the scene of the incident and saw Wongfaed’s body in the middle of a rubber plantation. They reportedly found his body cut in half in a pool of blood with Pom Pam standing over it.
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Eventually, livestock officials from Phang Nga province were called to calm the animal so rescue workers could recover the body of Wongfaed, son of Thawon Wongfaed, former mayor of Khok Charoen subdistrict.
During their preliminary investigation, officers from the Takua Thung Police Station found that Pom Pam was forced to carry wood to the rubber plantation before the attack. Officials suggested that the hot weather that day caused the elephant to “freak out” and attack its owner.
According to Phang Nga Province weather forecast for August, daily temperatures can reach as high as 30 degrees Fahrenheit on average.
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Rescuers reportedly used a dart gun to calm Pom Pam and recover Wongfaed’s body, which was later given to his relatives for his funeral.
Although the practice of using elephants to carry timber through forested areas was banned by the Thai government in 1989, the practice still occurs in some areas of the country.
“[It] is another stark reminder that Asian elephants are and remain wild animals that can attack and kill when abused or overly stressed by humans,” Duncan McNair, the CEO of charity Save The Asian Elephants, told Newsweek. “They suffer profoundly, both mentally and physically, when they are broken and forced into constant heavy labor in logging and related activities.”
The story goes on
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“Save The Asian Elephants has ample evidence of nearly 2,000 deaths and catastrophic injuries caused by captive elephants brutalized in unnatural forced activities, including tourism,” McNair added.
Although Thailand has nearly 30 laws protecting elephants, they are still reportedly being abused at human hands, e.g. B. when they are pierced by bullhooks – a stick with a metal hook on the end – to control their movement.
Elephants are usually thought of as good-natured animals, but they can potentially hurt people if they feel insecure or distressed. An elephant made headlines in June for killing a 70-year-old woman and then destroying her funeral to trample on her body.
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