My wife likes to watch, of all things, competetive badminton on TV. I happened to be in the room when one tournament in Thailand was just ending and they were giving awards out, everyone got their medal than a model came over and gave each guy a stuffed white elephant. And here it is again. I don’t know exactly what that represents but I gather it’s culturally significant to Thais.
You had the expense of the feeding and care of the elephant, and being a gift from the king, you couldn't give it away without some sort of repercussion, assuming you could find somebody to take it.
(I was reading about Thailand, and at one time, in the infamous prison, the guards would make a rattan ball, with nails facing inward, put a prisoner in one, and then roll it out in front of some elephants to kick around, or squash, or whatever.)