Despite this growing international move away from the controversial practice of elephant riding, the activity is still widely available in South Africa. There seems to be a belief that the training of African elephants does not involve the same kind of cruel practices as those inflicted on its Asian cousin. Although the cruelty may not be quite of the same level compared to Asia, Isabel Wentzel, previously at the NSPCA Wildlife Protection Unit, now curator at SAASA says:There is no quick, easy or humane way to ‘train’ elephants to accept humans riding them, nor to ‘tame’ wild elephants, often forcibly removed from their herds, which in itself is inhumane and unacceptable.

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