In addition, Burmese and Thai loggers use elephants to move logs around, drugging the animals with large amounts of amphetamines, to which they can become addicted. Many elephants get sick and die because of overwork due to the pressure to log teak at ever faster rates. In 1988, the Burmese military government gunned down thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators. In 1992-93, Burma extracted nearly one million cubic tons of teak logs with state owned or contracted operations, up from 700,000 in 1983. Claims that teak production helps the Burmese people are false, since the democratically elected government has never been allowed to take office, and funds generated from teak and heroin sales are not going any further then the pockets of the generals and their rich friends.
China is the largest importer of teak logs from Burma, with Thailand the second largest.
Much of this teak is processed for re-export as furniture and small consumer items. The United States and Europe are the final destinations of large amounts of teak, either lumber or finished products. Much of the teak lumber imports are used in construction of yachts and boats, a luxury the Burmese can ill afford. By buying Burmese teak you are threatening the largest remaining pristine tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has asked that other nations stop investing in Burma until democracy can be restored.