Thailand has used a contraceptive vaccine for the first time to control the rapid growth of its wild elephant population, local conservation authorities announced on Wednesday.
Three female elephants in Trat province, near the border with Cambodia, received an injection on Monday, Sukhee Boonsang, director of the wildlife conservation office, told AFP. The objective is to control the population of wild elephants while the birth rate of mammals is increasing by around 8% per year in five provinces in the east of the country, compared to 3% in other regions.
“This will lead to more long-term conflicts between humans and elephants if we do nothing,” the director explained.
800 wild elephants
The number of wild elephants in Thailand has increased from 334 in 2015 to nearly 800 in 2025, with thousands more in captivity.
Conflicts between humans and elephants have caused nearly 200 human deaths and more than a hundred elephant deaths since 2012, according to a statement from the conservation office.
The Asian elephant, the national animal of the kingdom, has been classified as a globally threatened species since 1986 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Sukhee Boonsang said the three vaccinated elephants did not have infections and were leading “their normal lives”.
Blood tests will be carried out every six months by his team, he added, specifying that the vaccine was tested two years ago on seven captive elephants in the north of the country.
