An artist’s impression of the elephant veterinary clinic and barn at Ban Ton Sae
STEF has recently received a tremendous boost in the form of a £25,000 donation from the Hawthorne Trust towards the completion of an elephant barn at the Ban Ton Sae site, near Phuket, where STEF is supporting the development of an elephant veterinary centre. The veterinary office and lab (on the left of the artist’s drawing) is now almost finished, and this latest generous donation from the Hawthorne Trust will now enable us to move rapidly on to the next stage towards completing the barn by erecting the roof with its supporting pillars.
The foundations for the barn are already in place, but now the construction of the building can go ahead. Prior to laying the re-enforced concrete floor, STEF has taken advice from one of Thailand’s top specialist elephant vets to firm up where, for example, the stocks would be placed, how to arrange suitable access and how best to load and unload elephants from their transport vehicles. At STEF we are excited to see the project progressing so well, and our aim to have the treatment centre ready to receive elephants in the spring looks to be on target. As part of our commitment to support the welfare of domestic elephants in Thailand (see Our Strategy) the Veterinary services at the Ban Ton Sae reserve will be provided free of charge.
