Baby elephants captured, mistreated, to supply Thailand's tourism industry

By Lindsay Murdoch
Updated August 25 2014 - 10:08am, first published July 9 2014 - 4:33pm
An elephant, purported to  have come from Myanmar, confiscated from the illegal trade in Thailand,. Photo: TRAFFIC
An elephant, purported to  have come from Myanmar, confiscated from the illegal trade in Thailand,. Photo: TRAFFIC
Baby elephants are a tourist attraction in Thailand. Photo: TRAFFIC
Baby elephants are a tourist attraction in Thailand. Photo: TRAFFIC
A baby elephant caught in a pit trap in Myanmar. Photo: TRAFFIC
A baby elephant caught in a pit trap in Myanmar. Photo: TRAFFIC
An elephant camp in Chiang Mai province, Thailand, that is home to seven illegally caught elephants.
 Photo: TRAFFIC
An elephant camp in Chiang Mai province, Thailand, that is home to seven illegally caught elephants. Photo: TRAFFIC
A wild baby elephant at a holding camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. Photo: TRAFFIC
A wild baby elephant at a holding camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. Photo: TRAFFIC

Bangkok: Baby elephants are being illegally captured in horrific conditions to supply Thailand's lucrative tourism industry, prompting calls for Thai authorities to tighten animal trafficking laws.