'Mobile vets' make house calls for Thai elephants

March 14, 1999
Web posted at: 4:24 p.m. EST (2124 GMT)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (CNN) -- In Thailand, where the number of elephants has dropped from 3,600 to about 3,000 since 1997, a group of vets has started traveling across the country to treat sick and wounded pachyderms.

The group, called Mobile Vet, was established due to the difficulties of getting sick elephants to proper veterinary clinics.

Most of the animals' medical problems are caused by humans, said Preecha Phongkum, one of the veterinarians.

"For example, one of the elephants had its tusk cut off, which resulted in a virus infection around the cut. There are very few cases of elephants getting this type of infection on their own," Preecha said.

Many of these elephants are subjected to hard labor: about 200 perform in tourist spots around the northern city of Chiang Mai, and others are used to harvest lumber from remote forests in the region.

Some of the worst cases the vets treat involve elephants that have been fed amphetamines by loggers, so that they can push the animals to work for longer stretches.

Mobile Vet is credited with saving hundreds of elephants since it started in 1993.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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