Chapter 05 · Act

Turn attention into a different choice.

You do not have to do everything. You do have to know what your choice supports.

Choose one action you can follow through on. The goal is to change what gets funded, permitted and treated as normal.

Before you book

Use observation as your starting point. World Animal Protection’s travel guidance recommends avoiding rides, performances and close-contact visitor activities, including bathing. Check the actual programme rather than relying on the words “ethical,” “rescue” or “sanctuary.”³⁴

Ask whether the elephant can leave. Is retreat possible without being brought back for the next visitor?
Ask about the whole day. What happens between public sessions and overnight?
Ask where the animals came from. Are individual origins and transfers documented?
Ask how care is assessed. Who provides veterinary oversight, and are welfare findings available?
Choose guides who respect distance. A sighting is not a promise of a close encounter.

Read the elephant tourism guide ↗

Support work with a specific outcome

Accountability

The Centre for Environmental Justice publishes its account of litigation over elephant regulations and release decisions. Read the case before deciding how to support its work.¹¹

Read the case account ↗

Safety for communities

The national mitigation plan sets out practical approaches to protecting villages and crops. Use it to judge whether a proposal addresses local safety and elephant movement together.³⁰

Read the mitigation plan (PDF) ↗

Care that continues

Look for programmes that document individual outcomes, staffing and follow-up. A rescue announcement is a beginning. Ask how food, veterinary treatment and long-term care are funded.

Read the recovery evidence →

Keep the legislative question current

The July 2026 Animal Welfare Bill appears in the official register. The latest substantive reporting reviewed here, dated 24 August, describes further debate and legislative steps ahead. Check for subsequent developments before circulating a claim about what the law now requires.^13,14

When advocating reform, be specific: ask for enforceable welfare duties, transparent inspection, clear responsibility for care and resources for implementation. Do not present our proposed end to elephant performances as a ban already established by this bill.

Check the government’s bill register ↗

Choose an individual case or a study and include its source. Keep the date, country and uncertainty attached. A claim about elephants in a Thai survey should not become a claim about every elephant in Sri Lanka.

If you document a concern, preserve the original date, location and context and seek appropriate local help. Do not approach a distressed elephant, confront a handler or turn an unverified allegation into a campaign against an individual.

Continue · Chapter 06Read what the record can support. Direct references, methods and corrections for this research edition.