Bangkok elephants up for adoption

A Thai mahout and his elephant look for tourists in downtown Bangkok (AP)

Elephants idling outside discos or lumbering through traffic have been part of Bangkok's colourful nightlife for nearly two decades.

Now authorities want to send them back to the jungle.

Thai officials say they have come up with an innovative solution: offering the pachyderms for adoption.

Several groups have already paid the estimated 500,000 baht (£9,000) to buy an elephant and relocate it to a reserve in the countryside.

Half of the city's 200 elephants have been relocated since the programme began in March, and Bangkok Governor Sukhumphan Boriphat vowed that the rest would be out within a year.

"Roaming elephants can cause accidents, especially at night, and even more importantly are harmful to themselves," he said. "It's important that we get elephants out of Bangkok as quickly as possible."

Elephants first arrived in Bangkok in the late 1980s after a logging ban made them redundant in forestry work. Since then, they have been trafficked into the city from rural Thailand and even neighbouring Burma by politically connected gangs who count on corrupt government officials to look the other way.

The elephants' handlers persuade tourists to buy the animals sugar cane and other snacks or use the elephants to promote the sale of ivory trinkets. Many of the animals get hurt when they collide with cars or step into drains or potholes.

The latest campaign to remove the elephants includes putting microchips in them so officials can track their whereabouts, and trying to convince foundations to buy and relocate them. Once in their new homes, the elephants will be trained to search the forest for their food.

Elephant owners can use the money to get into a new business, and those who refuse reasonable offers will be fined, city officials said.