The Philippine Online Chronicles

Eating elephant meat—the usual cuts, plus more exotic parts such as the trunk and genitals—has emerged in Thailand.

Two slaughtered wild elephants were found in a wildlife park in Thailand in December, signaling the rise of this new practice.

“The poachers took away the elephants’ sex organs and trunks ... for human consumption,” Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand’s wildlife agency, told the Associated Press.

Some of the meat was to be eaten without cooking, like “elephant sashimi,” he added.

Poachers traditionally only remove the tusks from Thailand's national animal, which go for tens of thousands of US dollars on the black market. Ivory is still the prime reason for poaching elephants, though that may soon change.

“There’s only a handful of people who like to eat elephant meat, but once there’s demand, poachers will find it hard to resist the big money,” Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant, cautioned.

The Thai elephant has been classified as endangered, with their population declining by 95% over the last hundred years.

In order to spread awareness about the conservation of elephants, the Thai government is poised to hold a “National Elephant Day” from 3-5 February.

Photo by AnnieGreenSprings. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.