BANGKOK — More than a decade ago, it was common for elephant owners to take their animals into Thailand’s cities and beg in the streets. Other elephants were put to work by illegal loggers along the border with Myanmar to harvest timber and haul it out of the forest.

Gradually, Thailand succeeded in reducing such practices and improving the lives of domesticated elephants. But now, the coronavirus that is sickening humans around the world may threaten to undo that progress.

A sudden drop in foreign tourists has forced the closing of dozens of elephant parks and similar tourist attractions, putting more than 1,000 elephants in Thailand out of work and endangering their futures, operators of the attractions said.

In recent years, the main concern that animal welfare advocates have raised about Thailand’s many elephant attractions has been whether it is abusive for tourists to ride the creatures.