Photo shoot with an elephant on Koh Samui

In Thailand, the elephant is a sacred animal and a national symbol. At the same time, due to the huge tourist demand, these amazing animals are often kept in cramped conditions and subjected to ill-treatment.

I talked a lot with the elephant drivers and as it turned out, they are not all equally bad, in some centers due to proper care the life expectancy of elephants is many times longer than in the wild. In addition there are so-called rescue elephants centres and sanctuaries, where these animals are obviously happy, dirty, properly fed, and deal with two-legged visitors is strictly voluntary.

Personally, I think this shooting option is ethically acceptable, because both customers and elephants obtain positive emotions communicating with each other.