My book “After the Forests: Thailand’s Captive Elephants and Their People” was released on 28 June 2022!
“After The Forests” is the first full-length non-fiction study of elephants used in Thailand’s tourism industry. These animals are neither wild nor domesticated but rather “captive”, and many suffer from serious welfare issues.
The book is also a study of the people who care for these elephants — including Indigenous mahouts (traditional elephant keepers) and a cohort of activists, conservationists, and volunteer tourists committed to improving elephant lives.
Drawing on my numerous immersive fieldwork trips, “After the Forests” examines ongoing changes in elephant tourism that are driven by ethical concerns for elephants. Through my firsthand narrative, the book explores the roles played by sanctuaries and community-based welfare/conservation projects in engendering these shifts.
Based on observations of elephants; interviews with mahouts, tourists, and conservationists; and peer-reviewed research, the book tells the stories of the amazing elephants and people I met during my journey, and makes an important contribution to current conversations about elephant captivity in Thailand.