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The herd of 6 domesticated elephants at the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Center (Dak Lak) was officially freed from carrying tourists from February 10.
Information from Dak Lak 2-9 Import-Export One Member Company Limited said that this unit has just issued a document to relevant units containing the content of officially ending elephant riding at Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Center.
The tame elephants have officially stopped transporting visitors from February 10, 2023
According to this unit, elephant riding will be replaced by new tourism products imbued with local culture, related to the unique ecosystem of “Buon Don Island Village” and connecting the community for mutual development.
Thus, after a very long hard work, the domesticated elephants in Buon Don District have completed their mission to serve tourists who come to Buon Don District.
Lately there has been a lot of controversy over the story of whether the Buon Don tourist office should allow elephants to ride or not. Most of the comments surrounding this story are in favor of ending elephant tourism.
According to Ms. Bui Thi Cam Tien (resident of Buon Ma Thuot city), she is strongly in favor of stopping elephant tourism in Buon Don district, and at the same time, it is highly desirable that the local government and relevant authorities invest in other tourism areas such as community tourism, forest tourism, etc. to promote the strengths of Buon Don district.
“Most of the domesticated elephants in Buon Don District are old and in poor health. If they continue to serve tourists in this way, it will impact the conservation and protection of this herd,” said Ms. Ten.
And Mr. Nguyen Trong Hai (living in Buon Don) said that elephant riding is a tourism specialty of Buon Don, elephant tourism is a great contributor to Dak Lak’s tourism industry. But for now, the elephants must rest.
“Although we deplore this tourist specialty, if we want our children to see the image of human-friendly elephants in Buon Don district in the future, we must stop it before it’s too late,” said Mr. Hi.
@Vietnamnet
