Thai police have charged a mahout after an elephant in his care killed a Spanish tourist last week.
Theerayut Inthaphudkij, 38, was charged with negligence causing death, local authorities said Monday.
The tourist – 22-year-old Blanca Ojanguren García – sustained a head injury after being shoved by the elephant while she was bathing the animal. She later died in the hospital.
Her death has renewed concerns over Thailand’s booming elephant tourism industry, which animal rights groups have long criticised as unethical and dangerous.
Activists say that elephant bathing is disruptive to natural grooming behaviours and could injure the animals, exposing them to unnecessary stress.
After the attack, experts weighed in to say that the elephant might have been stressed because of the interaction with tourists.
García was hurt by a female elephant, 45-year-old female Phang Somboon, at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in southern Thailand. Her boyfriend, who had been travelling with her, was also at the centre during the incident.
There are nearly 3,000 elephants held in tourist attractions across Thailand, according to an estimate by international charity World Animal Protection.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) told the BBC in a statement that “such incidents highlight the dangers to both humans and animals alike.”
“Any ‘sanctuary’ that allows humans to touch, feed, bathe, or closely interact with elephants in any way is no place of refuge for elephants and puts the lives of tourists and animals in critical danger,” said Peta senior vice president Jason Baker.
Similar charges of negligence have previously been pressed against mahouts whose elephants killed tourists.
In 2017, an elephant camp owner and a mahout were charged with recklessness causing death and injuries after an elephant killed a Chinese tour guide and injured two tourists in the Thai beach town, Pattaya. In 2013, a 27-year-old elephant had its tusks cut after it attacked and killed a woman.
García, a law and international relations student at Spain’s University of Navarra, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange programme. She and her boyfriend arrived in Thailand on 26 December 2024.
Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said the Spanish consulate in Bangkok was assisting García’s family.
Additional reporting by Kelly Ng
