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2019-2024 Report

A personal word from Dr Andrew McLean

There is very little that one can say that is positive about the dark period spanning the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time, many elephants suffered due to a lack of food and general husbandry privations. For the H-ELP Foundation, however, it opened doors to new areas of our charity strategy. We began donations via our website to many Southeast Asian elephant camps and organizations that were struggling to keep elephants alive. In addition, we began our long association with Animal Doctors International (ADI), a mobile vet clinic in Southeast Asia that assists elephants in veterinary need across many different countries. This is now an ongoing commitment for us, and I am pleased to say that ADI is also expanding.

The pandemic also gave us an opportunity to rethink how we educate people. Practically all the mahouts have smartphones, so we decided to develop an app that steps through training the elephant in a very detailed, stepwise fashion. So we began the long journey of developing our Modern Elephant Training app. With the help of Yee Hong, a Master's student at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, we created more than 100 animations of elephant training. These animations meticulously illuminate all of the steps required to train elephants to perform six different basic behaviours such as lying down, picking up objects and giving with their trunk, moving forwards and backwards, and staying still. Dr. Portland Jones, Nicki Stuart, and I invested vast amounts of time into the development of this app, which is now available on both Android and iOS and is free for anyone to download. The app is also prefaced with essential welfare-based training principles adapted from the 2020 Five Domains model of Animal Welfare. In 2023, our workshop in Chiang Mai was largely devoted to test driving the app. As expected, this workshop revealed the need for further refinement of the app.

In 2024, the H-ELP Foundation decided to launch a highly visionary project: to host an all-expenses-paid "International Elephant Training Workshop" in Thailand, with invited trainers and stakeholders from Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. This was the first time ever that top-level mahouts came together to discuss elephant training methods. This workshop lasted three days, and it was absolutely uplifting to see trainers, whose paternal inheritance of elephant training goes back generations, begin to listen to their colleagues from other countries.

To facilitate this process, we arranged large felt-pen sketched outlines of elephants and asked all the countries to draw where they use their pressure cues on the elephant's body and the voice commands they use in association. This enabled us to highlight the unity of training methodologies across Southeast Asia. Most importantly, it enabled us to capture these methods within the incredibly effective and efficient operant and classical conditioning frameworks. On our last day, we travelled to the Thai National Elephant Institute Veterinary Hospital, where we demonstrated and taught various methods of desensitization, as some elephants, like horses, develop phobias including ear, eye, and anal interventions.

We intend to run another International Elephant Training and Welfare Workshop in 2026. However, it is now of utmost importance to recognize that none of this would be possible without the generosity of our donors. In particular, our patron Lisa Cochrane has supported us with our futuristic vision for improved elephant welfare across Southeast Asia for many years now. Our heartfelt thanks for your support.

Once again, I must remind people that elephant habitats are shrinking rapidly, and there is just no room to free the 14,000 captive elephants back into the jungle. Unfortunately, it just isn’t that simple: poaching is still rife, and there is an enormous amount of human-elephant conflict in farming regions.

Asian elephants are endangered, and it is our responsibility to look after them. There are only around 40,000 Asian elephants left in the world. Therefore, at least looking after the 14,000 in captivity and giving them the chance of a decent life is surely our ethical remit. One thing I have learned about my work with charities, where there is no possibility of remuneration, is that it is the best feeling in the world to do hard work and expect nothing in return. I urge all people who live a comfortable life to help us provide the best life possible for perhaps the most iconic species on this planet. And as a finishing note to reaffirm my vision - it is not to keep elephants captive, but ultimately to give them the best life possible that enables them access to all their needs. In such a world, elephant tourism will focus on respectfully observing these incredible behemoths from a distance, allowing them to live naturally.

2017-2018 Report

A personal word from Dr Andrew McLean

2017-2018 saw a pleasing increase in H-ELP personnel and revenue. At the 2017 AGM we farewelled Wiebke Hendriksen as chair of the H-ELP Foundation who sadly resigned and whose position as chairman was re-taken by myself. Ben Fulton-Gillon was voted in as Vice Chairman. We also farewelled our valued Secretary/Treasurer, Mel Boot, who had to leave as she had begun a new accounting business and welcomed Tara Clegg as our new Secretary along with Helen Coleiro as our new Treasurer. We felt that our growth now required the Secretary/Treasurer role to be separated. This was followed by welcoming Alexander Lilley whose legal credentials and experience enabled us to gain our Deductible Gift Recipient status and who has capably filled the important role of Corporate Governance Officer. The fundraiser that we held in June 2017 was a huge success and my congratulations to Marlee, Ben and their team. This meant we had much needed funds and could afford our workshop in Thailand in October 2017 which was very successful. A second trip to Thailand and Laos led to an important meeting with the organisations, ASEAN Captive Elephant Working Group and Travelife to assist in auditing and thus supporting sustainable and welfare-friendly elephant camps.

Field Reports

2024 - Thailand

The H-ELP Foundation achieved a historic milestone by hosting its first multinational mahout training camp at the National Elephant Institute in Lamphun, Thailand. The groundbreaking event brought together nearly fifty delegates from seven Asian nations, including wildlife sanctuary leaders, veterinarians, and mahouts, all united in their commitment to enhancing captive elephant welfare through evidence-based practices.

Under the guidance of three founding board members, the camp delivered a culturally sensitive curriculum that bridged traditional training methods with modern training methods. Through a combination of classroom sessions, hands-on training with elephants, and cross-cultural knowledge exchange, participants explored essential topics such as animal learning theory, positive reinforcement techniques, and holistic welfare approaches. This pioneering initiative not only demonstrated the immediate impact of evidence-based training but also laid the foundation for H-ELP's broader vision of establishing regional mahout schools and professional accreditation programs across Asia, marking a significant step forward in transforming captive elephant care practices throughout the region.

2023 - Thailand

After almost 4 years of not being able to travel, the H-ELP training team conducted their fifth visit to the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort in northern Thailand. The team, comprising Dr. Portland Jones, Nicki Stuart, Vijo Virghase, and Nina Orthmann-Brask, focused on advancing evidence-based elephant management practices.A significant breakthrough came in training mahouts to implement humane, modern, scientifically-validated techniques. The comprehensive training program included workshops on the H-ELP Training App, fundamental principles of animal learning, classical conditioning, and behavior shaping. Through direct observation of mahout-elephant interactions during the 'Walking with Giants' activity, the team gathered valuable data to refine training protocols.Notably, mahouts demonstrated marked improvement in eliciting clear responses from their elephants, particularly when using gentle guidance techniques with a modified ankus. The H-ELP Training App received enthusiastic feedback from mahouts, who highlighted its particular value in training new staff members.The team also participated in the 19th Annual Elephant Conservation and Research Symposium, establishing connections with potential collaborators and gaining fresh perspectives on elephant care. Throughout their visit, they emphasized the critical importance of comprehensive elephant welfare, stressing that optimal care extends beyond training to encompass regular exercise, social interaction, and natural foraging opportunities.

2020-2022 - No field trips were undertaken, due to Covid travel restrictions

2019 - Thailand and Laos

The HELP training team completed a highly successful trip that advanced both our training capabilities and future collaborative initiatives. Through intensive workshops with mahouts, we focused on transitioning from traditional methods to positive reinforcement training techniques. A significant achievement was the development of a comprehensive foot management protocol, addressing a critical yet complex aspect of elephant welfare.At the Anantara Elephant Camp, which oversees the care of a substantial number of captive elephants, we introduced evidence-based training methods to managers and veterinary nurses. Our discussions highlighted pressing challenges facing the elephant tourism industry, particularly the need for enhanced tourist education and understanding.We identified the establishment of professional mahout training schools as a crucial step forward. These schools will emphasize comprehensive welfare standards while building tourist confidence and demonstrating the camps' dedication to elephant well-being. We stressed that elephant welfare encompasses multiple dimensions beyond the commonly known "no riding" or "no hooks" policies – including essential needs for regular walking, social interaction, and natural foraging behaviours.The team concluded our visit with reinforced conviction in our dual mission: empowering mahouts with ethical practices while educating the public about the nuanced complexities of captive elephant welfare. This approach ensures sustainable improvements in elephant care while fostering a more informed tourism industry.

2018 - Laos

Bjarne Clausen from the Danish Welfare Society, kindly facilitated our new start in Laos where it was a real pleasure to meet Michael Vogler, Head of the Elephant Conservation Centre in Luang Prabang. Mr Vogler is extremely genuine in his efforts to improve the training of elephants in captivity and his vision for elephant welfare is outstanding. The elephants in his care get a minimum of 7 kilometres of exercise per day, have access to adequate forage (they are careful not to overload the elephants with high carbs/sugar) and he has begun construction of a huge pen with the aim of allowing elephants to engage in normal social behaviours. With attention focused on humane training, this facility demonstrated best practice of training according to Dr Andrew McLean. This was all very good news. The H-ELP Foundation has donated a powerful electric fence unit to assist with the steps towards satisfying the social needs of elephants at this facility.

January 2018 ACEWG Audit - Chiang Mai In January 2018

Dr Andrew McLean was invited to attend the ACEWG (Asian Captive Elephant Working Group) meeting at the University of Chiang Mai, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This meeting is mostly for a group of the largest operators in Elephant Tourism across Asia including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and members that work with many elephant related projects from Singapore and further afield. Andrew delivered a talk on his experience and the value and importance of investing in mahout education. His talk coincided with a talk from Naut Kusters, Travelife, a sustainable tours and agents tourism organisation. Naut presented an auditing system he had put together with a team of experts and asked Andrew to attend the meeting as well as joining several camp audits, in an attempt to test the standard and see where it excelled and where it required further development before being presented as the auditing benchmark for all South East Asian elephant camps used for tourism. Andrew and Ben attended two camps that had volunteered complete access to their facilities in order to gain feedback on the areas where they could improve. It was an extremely interesting process for all parties involved. There were areas identified where the standard was not extensive enough for measuring, for example, training, understanding and knowledge of the mahouts against the techniques we had developed, and also incorporating a scientific baseline for elephant measurement such as the Five Freedoms. Overall it was an excellent process to be involved in and highlighted the recognition that H-ELP has ascertained as a driving force in elephant welfare across Asia.

November 2017 Workshop - Thailand In November 2017

We returned for the second round of workshops at the National Elephant Institute (NEI) in Lampang, Thailand. Following our successful workshops some of the same mahout returned which made for a good mix of new and returning students. We had a much better understanding of the constraints such as the daily workload of mahouts and their level of education which is quite different to other countries we work in. Thailand differs to India and Myanmar where elephants are used for national park patrolling and logging respectively. Dr Andrew McLean and Ben Fulton-Gillon attended the workshop along with founding board member Dr Portland Jones and professional event rider, horse trainer and coach, Sophie Warren, who has been teaching with Andrew’s methods for a number of years. The workshop followed a similar fashion to others. Elephants were presented with several behavioural issues such as not laying down or lifting their feet for their daily tasks or veterinary needs. We taught the elephants basic techniques using operant conditioning, emphasising that we could resolve the issues presented without the use of an ankus (metal hook). Due to the larger number of participants the workshop broke into several groups and after some theory it was quite practical to rotate the mahouts through the positions of giving commands and giving rewards. It was a very productive workshop with mahouts becoming visibly more attentive and engaged over the course of the workshop. It was the most instructors we’ve had at a workshop and the additional help of Dr Jones and Sophie ensured a greater level of detail and one to one assistance was given to any mahout with questions or difficulties. Since the mahouts that attend the workshops are selected because they hold leadership roles in their regular work environment, this extra attention will most likely lead to better dissemination of the knowledge to others. After working with mahouts Andrew gave a lecture at the elephant hospital where he showed mahouts how to use clicker training to help vets with various treatments especially around eye treatments. We also took tools with us supplied by Peter Horobin Saddlery for measuring the profiles of elephant’s backs. We took 24 profile measurements to gain an idea of the variation in shape we could expect between individual elephants. This data will be used to ensure a basic saddle design meets a general specification and can cater to the entire range of sizes within the dataset. After the workshop Ben, Portland and Sophie continued to visit elephant camps in the area but attending as general public and not identifying themselves in order to gain more insight into the industry. Some of the youngest elephants they encountered were displaying aggressive behaviour such as kicking and swinging their trunks at the public which was not effectively handled by the mahouts. If these mahouts are not trained to control the development of these bad habits, these young elephants will learn behaviours that will ultimately deem them too dangerous for use in tourism. This will most likely mean the elephant will be destined for a life in logging, used in camps that use more severe punishment or in extreme cases, traded on the black market for “parts” prescribed as traditional medicines.