3rd victory of the new season the mercedes drivers have finished 1st and 2nd in every race so far they're watching d.w. news life from berlin coming up next is a report on elephant rides in thailand fun or animal cruelty stay tuned for that uncalled for like for me and the entire team here at the w. thanks for tuning in. to. hear what's coming up for the book going to sleep you have plenty to talk about here. going to sleep every weekend.

some say that. the sanctions we come into this world we're in it together. each of us can even monitor. and then we can make a real difference as well you reduce all of. that i leave. as an attraction even if you never wanted it this way. the 30 year old male elephant legend china a northern province of thailand. here tourists can ride elephants and admire their acrobatics yet many animal welfare

organizations are convinced that young elephants in captivity are subjected to a. whole procedure to make them tame. the management of the elephant camp would rather not talk about whether ning and his fellow elephants have been tortured in this way. it's early in the morning just after 7 o'clock ning is restless maybe the bull elephant is waiting for his working day to finally begin but maybe he just wants to break free of the chain which keeps him tethered to his sleeping area every night. for syrup chemistry the vet at the camp there is no cause for concern either way. i think he have a problem with hoss i think. 2 shots than an all wall i think at

last and i hear you walt are and made their share and it's not. fairly and then they share and was just to shut them down long. ago mr sawyer gets ready for his working day at around half past 6 every morning too he lives in this house with his family barely 50 meters away from him sleeping area. for over 10 years he's been ings my hoots as the thai people call the handlers of the working elephants. as i'm a hoot mr sawyer is responsible for feeding and taking care of me but his chief role is akin to that of a tamer even if he prefers to see himself as a partner. for the warden is like a member of the family. and the value that got our relationship is based on love and mutual respect. he's been living with me now for over 10 years just like you

would like with family or a good friend will do it on. gun. day begins with a decent breakfast an adult elephant eats about $200.00 kilos of food per day preferably grass and leaves. while knowing is eating mr sawyer takes care of business from the previous night. he then finally frees the elephant from his twisted shackles but even during the day it's a life in chains for all of the 79 elephants in the camp ning is obviously used to the routine. does not like being rushed in the early morning and i. thought. they were. not. before the boat hook has to be used decides to get moving after all his daily shower awaits he can always eat his breakfast on the way. it's almost an hour until

the 1st tourists will be sitting on the back before they come he has to go through the elephant wash as he does every morning. the. only a few commands are required for his morning grooming and mr sawyer are a close knit team. so. after his early scrub the elephant is saddled up on a daily feat of strength for mr sawyer for. the riding seat alone weighs around 40 kilos mr sawyer says that ning scarcely feels the weight after all as an adult all elephant ning weighs about $3.00 tons himself. while ning and mr sawyer making their way to the start of the ride the 1st guests are eagerly waiting as is mostly the case the visitors are nearly all chinese.

most western 2 operators have long since removed traditional plants like this one from their catalogs as many animal welfare arrests in europe or the usa consider writing operating the elephants as cruelty to animals. the camps marketing officer sees no fault with a traditional concept. like. if you do a pro wine their culture way their way off life about thai people and off and walk how do they how do we live with the people read them all the story of the people from the outside how to ride on the elephant how the people use the elephant in the past in the past me read go on the often we use the elephant as a prize for patients until the poor station was banned in 1909 elephants in thailand were also used in forestry. now they only stock heavy logs to entertain 2 arrests. around $5000.00

elephants in total live in thailand today with around $3000.00 of them in captivity . nina earthman brask is a danish biologist she advises elephant camps on how to combine 2 or isn't better with animal welfare she thinks that in a perfect world elephants would be free not held in captivity but the reality is a different one in thailand now it's about maintaining certain basic standards at least so. so good welfare can easily be done in a riding camp if you provide the elephant with shade enough good enough water enough rest and and otherwise free from discomfort also. knowing whose name means number one in the thai language is the star among the elephants in the county it has the longest tusks of all the elephants. the camp has been his home for over 20

years. prior to that he lived in a mountain village on the border to me and mark as a working animal. has never known a life in the wild and he knows what the guests expect of him. a young couple from china gets to riding 1st the elephant doesn't seem to mind who sits on his back as long as he has the right snacks for the journey. the shortest. i'd last almost 30 minutes and costs around 20 euros longer rides are also possible . ning knows the route by heart in a normal day he gives by brides the visitors are usually thrilled. for you know what it was already wobbly at the beginning but then it's a pretty good feeling on. what. some guests are bothered by the bull the most important tool of every man. i don't like because he.

heap big dick i don't like. i like all that that's. the can't manager tells us that in some situations it takes more than the soft touch to control the elephants i don't. even think he cares i think it's too dangerous because elephants are the bits. when you where. some days they have lists right even the dog had to have something like that but often they are whites much more buker standoff so we've been in a storm in need to be strong. lunch time in the camp time for ning to do what he always does for mr sawyer it's his 1st meal since breakfast but he doesn't need 200 kilos of food pre-date to keep up his strength. mr so explains how important it is that the elephants have enough food also to control the animals.

so far winning is obstinate and doesn't react to my commands then i give him something to eat you know if he's still in a bad mood i have to use my bull hook i was a little pack is usually enough to calm him down love all we have no high called the union like on. nina or thin brask tells us that a lack of transparency constantly impedes her work. in particular the camp management refuses to talk to her about the training of young elephants. historically they have used. a very brutal way of training the young elephants to make them listen to them hooks. and actually due to this very brutal training method that is now what is deterring many tourists from going into the much additional camps because it is a firm belief that all elephants and to do a show is to do any sort of entertainment for guests and tourists. can only do so

because they have been through a brutal training let alone. are available on the internet showing the cruelty and valving breaking in the elephants as it is called it is not known exactly where and when these films were. not the brutal procedure can take up to a month the animal is only freed once it stops fighting back. this method was practiced for centuries in the entire region today there are laws against cruelty to animals in thailand but if no one complains it seems not to be an issue. is unclear to what extent the brutal training methods are still practiced today. the vet at the camp remains vague when asked about the issue. in our cabin we tried to use the combination of posts and they reinforced many.

somehow. they don't know about the naked men the father and i guess he had many just a really as some ratio to them and when i found buddha right being removed. a lot of the hooded being. he had hinted that in fact is not that. a nice long drink at the end of the day after a good 7 hours with the writing seat on his back working day is over so just mr sawyer has to work hard. so. that. one of the things i notice about this is that with this kind of very close and almost so respectful relationship

it has with its hand last and i think it's all so it's all in there like the management of that animal is based on on a mutual respect and not so much. who's who who's got a weapon or not. named mr sawyer on the way back to the sleeping area. suddenly the elephant stops in his tracks he needs to have a scratch these concrete pillars are just the thing to relieve his it. it's one of the few moments when one can simply do as he likes with no drills or commands. and then it's shackle time again. will spend the next 14 hours tethered to the spot. later on mr sawyer will bring him fresh food. and tomorrow the whole thing will start again.

asked for. a woman on a mission to save the environment. one of the problems but they're out there new people so you should still get interest period as a reporter. she knows that nature is often pushed past its limits here because people simply don't know any better but she's determined to change the topic. next. a re store and village in umbria and. it's an olive grove. a monument to human dignity. a scarf for 820 euros. what's the connection here. it's the short version of a long story about the billionaire and champion of workers' rights.

with different languages we fight with different things that's fine but we all speak up for freedom freedom of speech and freedom of press. giving freedom of choice global news that matters w made for minds. hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of eco africa i'm now a thai in lagos nigeria and i'm very happy to welcome you today we have lots of new environmental topics and ideas from europe and africa but i'm not alone with me is

my charming colleague in south africa hello there z. hey auntie it's great to be here again.