Elephant rides in Dak Lak province in Vietnam’s central highlands are continuing despite local officials agreeing in October 2020 to eventually end them. Tourists around Lak Lake can still be seen riding elephants, sitting on a metal chair strapped to the top of the animal’s back. “It is sad to see that elephants are still being ridden in some tourist areas in the province,” Thanh Nguyen, animal welfare officer at Animals Asia, told dpa in May. After the local government committed to phase out elephant rides in October 2020 they “did not provide a timeline for the process,” Thanh Nguyen said. …