Shocking images that are viral on the internet right now are showing a baby elephant being forced to entertain guests that are arriving and partying at a 5-star resort in Thailand.
In the images, the elephant can be seen covered in a white sheet as it is being guided to a pool party.
The incident happened at the Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach hotel, a 5-star resort, in Phuket.
Moving Animals, an animal rights group, slammed the hotel for the horrible act after the hotel posted images of the elephants on their Facebook page.
The Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach hotel removed the images after the animal rights group slammed their horrible act.
Amy Jones, the spokesperson for the Moving Animals, said, “Elephants are sensitive, intelligent animals, not products to be used as a ridiculous party prop.”
Amy added, “Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach should not be promoting and supporting such cruelty, and this stunt will undoubtedly be bad for business as more and more tourists turn away from activities which exploit elephants.”
The images show the elephant being brought to a party in the hotel while it was covered in some kind of party cloth.
The hotel, which is part of the Accor Hospitality Group, has an 8.8 rating on Booking.com, which is a website that helps people find the best hotels.
The spokesperson for the Accor Group released a statement to Metro.co.uk.
The statement said, “This was an isolated incident that occurred when a guest brought an elephant onto the property as part of a private event. Our hotels do not use animals for entertainment and this incident has allowed us the opportunity to reinforce to all our network the importance of ensuring the safety and welfare of animals who might enter their grounds.”
The statement added, “We sincerely apologies for this incident and are committed to doing better in the future to raise awareness of the importance of treating all creatures in an ethical way.”
The statement continued, “We will work with our staff, guests, and partners to ensure their understanding of the negative impacts of this kind of treatment of animals and you can be assured that we are immediately communicating with all our network to ensure such an incident does not occur in the future. As a group, we are committed to a strong environmental and social stance to protect the planet, its people and its creatures and we are treating this issue with the highest importance.”
The Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach Hotel is yet to release an official statement about the incident.