Charges against mahout after elephant kills tourist

Thai police have charged a mahout after an elephant in his care killed a Spanish tourist last week.

Therayut Inthafudkij, 38, has been charged with negligent homicide, local authorities said Monday.

The tourist – 22-year-old Blanca Ojanguren Garcia – was bathing the elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center in southern Thailand. when he was attacked by an animal,

It has reignited concerns over Thailand’s booming elephant tourism industry, which animal rights groups have long criticized as unethical and dangerous.

Activists say bathing elephants is harmful to natural grooming behavior and can injure the animals, putting them through unnecessary stress.

After the attack, experts said the elephant may have become stressed due to interaction with tourists.

Garcia suffered a head injury – and later died in hospital – when the 45-year-old female elephant, named Phang Somboon, pushed him with its tusk. Her boyfriend, who was traveling with her, witnessed the attack.

According to an estimate by the international charity World Animal Protection, about 3,000 elephants are housed in tourist attractions throughout Thailand.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the BBC in a statement that “such incidents highlight the dangers to humans and animals alike.”

Jason Baker, senior vice president of PETA, said, “Any ‘sanctuary’ that allows humans to touch, feed, bathe, or interact closely with elephants in any way is not a sanctuary for elephants. And puts the lives of tourists and animals at grave risk.” ,

Similar allegations of negligence have previously been made against mahouts whose elephants have killed tourists.

In 2017, an elephant camp owner and a mahout were charged with recklessly causing death and wounding after an elephant killed a Chinese tour guide and injured two tourists in the Thai beach town of Pattaya. . In 2013, a 27-year-old elephant attacked and killed a woman, after which her tusks were removed.

Garcia, a law and international relations student at the University of Navarra, Spain, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange program. She and her boyfriend reached Thailand on 26 December 2024.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alberes said the Spanish Consulate in Bangkok was assisting Garcia’s family.

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng