The old name for Laos is Lan Xang which means the land of a million elephants. One of our fondest memories of Laos was meeting Mae San the elephant, her mahout (trainer) and her friends at the Elephant Village. “Elephant Village gives rescued elephants a new home where they are free from abusive work. Elephant Village provides local villagers a better livelihood, so they can stop their slash and burn tradition.” Many elephants in Laos were, and still are, used in the logging industry. They are mistreated, forced to pull loads that are too heavy for them, fed drugs to work longer and work in dangerous conditions. The sweet nature that elephants are know for are taken advantage of and some people use sharp hooks or knives to bend elephants to their will. It’s painful to learn about the lives these elephants suffered before being rescued. Elephants wear their hearts on their sleeves. It’s delightful to see them happy, but it’s also obvious when they suffer. How can people mistreat these animals? No one is that …