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Rescued elephant in sanctuary

Adopt an elephant

Elephants are suffering in tourist venues around the world.

Animals are often exploited for profit with activities like giving rides, performing tricks or posing for photos. These practices involve painful training and force animals to live in unnatural conditions, causing severe physical and psychological harm. These deeply sensitive social animals are experiencing pain, fear and isolation. The companies that continue to operate within this industry need to be held to account and public pressure needs to be put on them until these practices stop. 

Wanted: big-hearted people to adopt rescued elephants

World Animal Protection supports elephant-friendly venues which enable tourists to participate in responsible tourism, reducing the demand for exploitative, low-welfare venues.

By adopting an elephant today, you can support their rehabilitation and care, giving them a chance to heal in a safe and nurturing environment. Elephants receive a regular nutritious diet with expert veterinary care, that can address the health issues that so often bring suffering to older elephants. Here these beautiful animals are safe, free of pressure to perform for tourists; aside from their carers all humans are kept at a distance. Their happiness after rescue will also inspire the public and prove that we can end the cruel exploitation of wild animals within our lifetimes.

When you support these high-welfare venues, you’re not only ensuring rescued elephants are treated with compassion but also helping to reduce the demand for harmful and exploitative tourist experiences. Together, we can pave the way for a kinder world for elephants.

The Power of Animals is undeniable: when you protect them, you’re also protecting our planet. Animals are essential to maintaining the balance of nature and when they thrive, we all thrive.   

Step 1: Choose an elephant to adopt 🐘

Rescued elephant Mae Dok in sanctuary

Vibrant Mae Dok

Mae Dok’s name means “Mother Flower” in Thai. After decades of hard work in logging and tourism, she now spends her days peacefully roaming the jungle with her best friend, Mae Kam. 

Mae Dok is in her 60s, and she is finally enjoying the life she deserves at BEES Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Thanks to caring people like you, she can enjoy the love, freedom and bananas (her favourite!) that every elephant deserves.

Loves: bananas, lazy strolls, splashing in the creek and Mae Kam. 

Adopt Mae Dok

Playful Mayura

Meet Mayura, she’s a beautiful and lively elephant whose name means “Mother Peacock” in Thai. Mayura worked for years as a logging elephant and as a taxi elephant in Chiang Mai. She and her mother, Mae Gohgae, were sometimes able to reunite between logging jobs.

Mayura is in her 30s, she’s full of energy and a bit mischievous. Her carer, Tor, says she is very smart - sometimes pretending not to understand him just to play around! Mayura and her mother are now living reunited in ChanChill, Thailand. 

Loves: playful splashes in the river, munching on fresh fruit, long strolls with my mom, and keeping my carer on his toes! 

Adopt Mayura

Step 2: Choose your monthly amount 💕

  • $20 per month can provide sufficient medicine for your elephant and campaign to protect baby elephants from cruel training where they are isolated, chained, starved and beaten 
  • $25 per month can give nutritious food like grass, leaves and fruit and provide financial support for high-welfare venues 
  • $30 per month can ensure a shelter to protect them and transform tourist venues into elephant-friendly camps where elephants can live better lives 

Step 3: Enjoy updates on your adopted elephant! 💌

As an animal adopter, you will receive:

  • An exclusive adoption certificate
  • Regular updates throughout the year on how your monthly gift is making a difference in your elephant’s life 

You are a key force in supporting projects that help more elephants and other wild animals live a better life.

Your monthly adoption will also support our ongoing work to break the cycle of abuse and exploitation of wild animals, including:

  • Campaigning to protect baby elephants from cruel training processes where they are isolated, chained, starved and beaten 
  • Providing financial support for high-welfare venues 
  • Influencing travel companies to stop all sales and promotion of venues offering elephant rides and shows 
  • Educating tourists to reduce the demand for cruel activities like elephant rides and shows and help create a better future for captive animals in the tourism industry 
  • Transforming tourist venues into elephant-friendly camps where elephants can live better lives 
  • Working on new laws to protect elephants 
  • Fueling the Power of Animals campaign that can help reset the world's relationship with nature and end animal cruelty

Adopt Mae Dok Adopt Mayura

Frequently asked questions ❔

What is included in an adoption?

Our Elephant Adoption program is a unique way to bring you closer to our work and the animals we campaign to protect. As an Elephant Adopter, you will receive regular updates by email, about your adopted elephant and about our wider campaigns to end the suffering of wild and farmed animals.  

Your adoption journey includes:  

  • An exclusive adoption certificate. 
  • Regular updates about your adopted elephant are sent by email and SMS. 
  • You will witness a first-hand view of your adopted elephant’s life through photos and videos. 
  • Your kindness supports ethical tourism that is completely free from animal cruelty. 

To ensure that you receive email communications, it is important that you tick the opt-in box on the adoption form. 

Does each elephant have more than one adopter?

To bring lasting change for animals an elephant can be adopted by more than one person. Having a larger number of elephant adopters creates a bigger difference in the lives of animals.

We rely on the generous support of Elephant Adopters and other supporters to collectively fund all our campaigns.  

For example, our work to end the cruelty suffered by captive elephants includes campaigning for vital changes in the law, helping elephant venues to change their practices to become venues where elephants are allowed to behave as elephants and campaigning with the public and tourism industry to reduce the demand for low-welfare venues. 

Who are the elephants in the Animal Adoption Program?

The elephants in the adoption program live in high-welfare elephant-friendly venues supported by World Animal Protection. These venues are models of how other venues should care for and treat elephants.

To learn more about high-welfare elephant-friendly venues, access our elephant guide here: Elephant friendly tourist guide.

How long does my adoption last?

Your Elephant Adoption is ongoing, and we do rely on supporters for us to continue our vital work, but you can change or cancel your monthly donation at any time by logging in to your Supporter Centre to view or update your monthly giving information. You can also email info@worldanimalprotection.ca or call us at: 1 800 363 9772 x 101 to make any updates or changes. 

When will my donation(s) be processed?

Your first gift is processed on the same day you submit your donation. Your monthly donation is processed monthly on the same day of the month. 

Are my donations tax deductible?

Elephant Adopters will receive a consolidated tax receipt issued in February after the previous tax year has closed. If you have provided World Animal Protection with your email address, your tax receipt will be sent by email unless you have requested otherwise. 

How are my donations spent?

As an Elephant Adopter, you will not only be helping to transform the plight of captive elephants in the tourism industry, but your support will also go even further and drive impact for other animals that are suffering. World Animal Protection seeks to end the suffering and exploitation of wild animals that are trapped in cruel exploitative industries such as tourism and traditional medicine. We also fight against the extreme cruelty of animals on factory farms. We believe that wild animals belong in the wild and that all animals deserve a life free from cruelty and suffering. 

How do I change my contact details and how do you contact me?

You can log in to your Supporter Centre to view or update your contact information. You can also email info@worldanimalprotection.ca or call 1 800 363 9772. 

How else can I support World Animal Protection?

There are many other ways that you can support World Animal Protection. The most popular ways to help and become closer to our work include: 

An elephant in sanctuary
Mayura in sanctuary.