NOVEMBER THE MONTH OF CHANGE FOR BEES

November has been a month of change here at BEES Elephant Sanctuary.  Some things have been renewed, we have rethought our approach to our visitor experience and we have a Lucky Draw for people that help us through donations.

A NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE FOR BEES:

With trumpets of thanks to wonderful Aussie Friends, Di and Steve; we now have a very informative website, with loads more pictures and information on why we are needed, the elephants at BEES and our visitor program. It is a great change, super easy to navigate and gives you a much better understanding of the work we do.

HANDS OFF APPROACH AT BEES AND WHY WE DECIDED TO TAKE THIS STEP:

Most recently we have decided to create a change to our visitor experience and adopt a Hands Off Approach, this is for the safety of guests and the wellbeing of the elephants. This approach allows the elephants the freedom and space they truly deserve.

At BEES, for many years now we have allowed guests very limited contact with the elephants of an afternoon. The forest time has always been the elephant’s time, where guests could observe these magnificent animals going about their day. Of an afternoon in the past we did allow guests to help give the elephants a wash down with buckets in the stream and hand feed the elephants. We have come to realize over time that allowing such activities and physical contact with guests is not necessary for the elephant and only caters to the tourist wants and not the elephant’s needs. Elephants in captivity need to have a caretaker (mahout) to keep them safe while they are roaming, they need to ensure they have adequate exercise, nutrition, can receive medical attention when needed and have good living conditions. This relationship is built on trust and takes time, patience and understanding. Elephants do not require tourists to pat them, feed them or bath them, this role should be carried out by their caretaker. A good mahout will ensure the elephant has access to good quality food, water, mud, dust and a stream/body of water to bath in if they please. Should an elephant be too old to bath themselves it’s their (mahout) caretaker’s role as a trusted individual in the elephant’s life, to ensure those needs are met.

Visitors to BEES can help to gather and prepare food, clean sleeping areas, create enrichment for the elephants night areas, help with projects around the center, help give love to our rescued cats and dogs and be rewarded seeing the elephants in a natural habitat, having the freedom to just be elephants.

In many Riding Camps and ‘Ethical Camps’ across Thailand, elephants are forced to lay down in mud while packs of tourists wearing bikini’s, rub the mud into the elephants skin or are made to play with tourists in a river spraying water with their trunks, the Mahouts can often hold an ankus or concealed weapons (usually a sharp nail) to make sure the elephants obey so that the tourists have a good time. Elephants LOVE to bath, play in mud and dust themselves; they can do this naturally without being exploited.

Elephants come to BEES to be free from work, we feel allowing visitors to be in physical contact with the elephants to Pat, Play, Bath, Hand Feed and Take Selfies is taking away from the elephant’s freedom. They have been conditioned/forced to be around humans their entire lives.

BEES has always worked to put the elephants first, we feel this step forward is definitely the right move.

BEES is a place where the roles have been reversed. It is a place where humans now work FOR these elephants. NO Exploitation, NO Abuse, Just Elephants Being Elephants.

Join the Visitor Program to get a glimpse into the elephant’s retired lives!

A Christmas wish to give another elephant the freedom they deserve and a Chance to Win a Stay At BEES!

Would you like to donate and receive a Sponsorship Certificate for Yourself, Family Member or Friend? For all donations between now and 24^th December we have a special sponsorship certificate, which you can give as a gift for a friend, family member or for yourself.

CHRISTMAS LUCKY DRAW:

BEES – Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary are running a Lucky Draw to help raise the funds needed to retire another elephant.

Would you like to go in the draw for your chance to win a 3night/4day stay at BEES and at the same time help us fore fill our Christmas Wish to give another elephant freedom? All you have to do to enter the Draw is donate 10USD (OR More) to the Elephant Rescue Fund here:
https://www.simplygiving.com/appeal/ElephantRescueFund

WHY DOES BEES NEED DONATIONS FOR THE RESCUE FUND?

We can’t retire anymore elephants without your support, we need your help!

BEES needs to have funds on hand to be able to successfully negotiate with owners, elephants come a quite a price, whether renting or buying an elephant, funds are needed to be able to pay the owner in monthly installments or to purchase the elephant and allow them permanent retirement. The aim for this fundraiser is to raise funds to purchase an elephant so that ultimately they can live out the rest of their days free from exploitation and abuse. By donating you’re helping us towards our goal, to have the funds available to give another elephant the freedom they deserve.

DOES BEES HAVE AN ELEPHANT IN MIND?

The past year we have been trying to negotiate with many owners, but due to not having enough funds, not even for a deposit, negotiating is impossible. We have sadly watched many elephants that need to be retired, sold on to work in the camps after already spending 50 plus years forced to work; it’s very upsetting, as we simply haven’t had the funds on hand to negotiate fast enough. Donations that come through the simply giving campaign – Elephant Rescue Fund, take up to 2 months from the date of the donation being received to arrive in the BEES ELEPHANT FOUNDATION – BEF Bank account. This is a great disadvantage as we are not able to provide a date on when we will be able to pay the owners the amount in full, most owners will not accept any form of agreement without a definite date of when the remainder of the funds will change hands, not to mention that once we have done our due diligence and checked all the paperwork of the elephant is legit, most owners want a deposit immediately and then the sale to proceed very quickly (within a matter of days). The elephant pictured here is one of many that we could bring home to BEES. We need your help so that we can have funds on hand to act fast and allow more elephants to live a better more natural life.

Please donate, share and help us make a difference.

Working to create a brighter future, one elephant at a time!

Trumpets, Rumbles and Grumbles of Thanks,

The BEES Team