Wildlife Friends of Thailand , Petchaburi , Thailand

It is nearly impossible to travel within Southeast Asia and not be painfully aware of the animals. The stray dogs and cats in Bangkok almost rival the number of people jamming the city streets. And it is not uncommon for homes to have pet gibbons or macaques chained up in yards. To complement the array of wild smells and colors one encounters in this part of the world, wild animals are also a part of the experience. Thailand is no exception to the untamable trade of endangered and rare species. At weekend markets cages of techno-colored birds (often smuggled in from other countries or caught in the jungles) can be bought for a small price and with further inquiry endangered species such as sun bears, orangutans, and even tigers can be bought.

The Wildlife Friends of Thailand Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Education Center is an organization that gives refuge to animals that have been unwilling participants in a culture that fosters consumptive habits that can often be startling and confusing to Western eyes. The array of animals at the Center only further demonstrates the multitude of applications that animals are used for in Southeast Asia . There are wild animals, no longer able to ever be released from too many years of being a pet, to animals that were almost destined to be upon a dinner table. From an ecological standpoint, it is frightening to think of the damage that is being done by taking these animals out of the wild. Habitat depletion and ecosystem damage happens not just from the bulldozer, but from the poachers' snares as well. Therefore, the Center is not just one that promotes animal rights, but also environmental education. Wildlife Friends of Thailand strives to give animals a better life, by not only providing a safe haven but by also re-releasing them if possible. The Center also provides education to tourists and locals alike on the importance of fair treatment to animals and the environmental ramifications that animal rights have.

I spent a great deal of time at the Center, assisting the vet in spaying and neutering of local stray dogs. I also assisted other volunteers with many of the different animals, including a binturong, civet cats, gibbons, ostriches, and otters. The area that I concentrated on most, however, was working with elephants.

Logging, utilizing elephants, was made illegal in Thailand in 1986, causing these beasts of burden to often be out of work and out of a home. Many owners could not afford to keep on the elephants, and so it is not uncommon to see bone thin elephants begging on city streets dangerously close to being hit by automobiles. Many of the elephants at the Center had previously endured this sort of life. The others, however, came from tourist camps where they continuously gave rides to tourists who would sit on wooden contraptions strapped to the animals' backs. The monotony and physical strain of a life like this can be very difficult for an elephant to undertake. Therefore, my job as a volunteer was simply to give these elephants a better space to live in both physically and mentally. In the past, elephants at the Center have been re-released, yet the particular ones that I worked with had unfortunately been workers for too long to ever really be “wild” again. Therefore, daily feedings, washings, and river trips were my main responsibilities, as well as picking pineapple plants for the elephants to eat. It is no easy task working under the Thai sun in a full cover outfit picking sharp, spiny fruit and foliage, but even this being the worst of the work was incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. Often I was required to sit atop an elephant to better guide it on long forest walks or on walks to the river. This was done in the most humane manner, with no wooden seats, without even a bull hook (a device often used to control elephants that unfortunately can be used as a weapon).

Having the opportunity to see the beauty of the hot, lush Thai countryside with five or six of the Center dogs accompanying me, and then riding on the elephants and feeling their excitement and happiness as they and the dogs all rushed into the local river became a common occurrence, but was never mundane. To feel an elephant's breathing come into your own, as their pace falls in rhythm with you, is a feeling that cannot be described. And truly that is the most crucial point of my experience. What I felt this summer as a direct result of my experiences will only further enhance and enrich my life. Working in Thailand with such wonderful animals on a day-to-day basis was beyond incredible. I never imagined my expectations to be so utterly fulfilled. It was a collection of experiences that can only be described by feeling it rather than explaining it, and has given me perhaps one of the most valuable learning experiences I have ever had.

This internship only increased my passion for animal rights and also my interest in ecological connections. By being privy to seeing not only endangered but also common animals being viewed as simply a monetary commodity, or if not, than a worthless entity, I was often shocked and inspired to fully throw my energy into understanding why so much atrocity can happen in regard to animals and how these actions then have environmental effects. I was even more reminded of the importance of cultural barriers and differences in understanding the values that are at the core of these problems.

My senior project, which will in turn become my thesis, will grapple with trying to uncover and understand what it is that leads to such treatment of living, breathing parts of our world. I cannot fully describe some of the horrors I saw, and while it was at times beyond difficult to witness and even be knowledgeable of such acts, it only strengthened my understanding of the complexity of problems pertaining to flora and fauna. Being exposed to such a dark part of this beautiful country's society only helped me better understand the complexity of the problems that all nations are facing in regard to animals. Having an internship that was beautiful and difficult, heartbreaking and blissful, was rewarding in a way I will continue to feel for an untold amount of time.