Conservationists protested on Thursday against a plan by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to use birth control injections on wild elephants.
Members of the Soo Phua Chang (Fighting for Elephants) Network gathered at the ministry to demand that the plan be delayed until further studies are carried out, and a thorough review of the birth control shots is conducted.
They submitted their petition to minister Chalermchai Sri-on, which was accepted by Naraphat Kaewthong, the vice minister.
The ministry earlier ordered the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and others to study the effectiveness of birth control shots on female elephants as part of a project to regulate the wild elephant population.
The department previously collaborated with the Centre for Elephant and Wildlife Health at Chiang Mai University on a similar study that would provide contraceptive effects for up to seven years.
Andaman Adana, a member of the network, claimed the research into the efficacy of these shots on wild elephants is incomplete, as the drug is still in the testing phase.
The department should wait until after the trial period to see its effects before administering the shots to the wider elephant population, he said, adding this could take up to seven years.
Mr Andaman said he was wondering how the department would be able to effectively monitor the efficacy of the birth control jabs during a trial period as the elephants roam the forests at will.
Pattharapol Manee-on, chief of the Wildlife Health Management Department at the DNP, later met with the protesters to hear their concerns.
Mr Chalermchai said earlier that Thailand is reported to have at least 4,000 wild elephants, with a birth rate rising by 7-8% a year. The population is predicted to grow to at least 6,000 in the next four years, which is inconsistent with shrinking forest areas.
The department is due to hold a public hearing on the issue on Friday at the Royal Forest Department, as the trial is to be carried out on forest-dwelling elephants in five eastern provinces.
The findings will be shared with the Centre for Elephant and Wildlife Health.