End the elephant, camel, and pony rides at the Bethlehem Fair!

Elephant, camel, and pony rides have been a popular attraction at the Bethlehem fair since I can remember. I'll even admit I enjoyed them when I was a kid too. It wasn't until my volunteer trip to the elephant sanctuary in Thailand that I learned how awful these elephant rides really are. Elephants are not naturally docile, tame creatures. They are not domesticated. They are not like a dog or a horse you can easily train. They are elephants. The "training" they endure is essentially being beaten almost to death until they fear us enough to surrender themselves. The process is called the Phajaan which means crushing/breaking of the spirit. Many elephants even die from this process. I was fortunate enough to work with some elephants that were rescued from the entertainment industry and the aftermath is devistating. So many of the elephants had ptsd-like behaviors from being beaten and chained up. Although this is the traditional method of training and may not be the most popular currently, it is still happening around the world and paying for elephant rides at the fair only keeps the industry afloat. Elephants live for a very long time. The older elephants most likely endured the phajaan and continue to be abused every day. They are not meant to be ridden. Although they are large, their backs are not strong enough to comfortably hold the amount of people let on. Elephants are extremely intelligent creatures and they deserve to be respected. Let these poor elephants live out the rest of their lives in peace. If the circus did it, the Bethlehem fair can do it too.
If you would like to learn more, here is a link to a site I found with some pretty good info
https://www.thailandelephants.org/the-ugly

As for the camel and the ponies, they just look miserable. The ponies are standing in a merry-go-round type structure, tied up, completely unable to move unless they are being ridden, but are only walking in a circle for a few minutes. The whole time I was there I did not see one pony ride. And it gets hot in mid September.
The whole thing makes me sick. Please please please pass this on to your friends and family. Educate your children. Let's get everyone on board with this!