Although participating in Het Perfecte Plaatje Op Reis is normally a big party and the candidates always cheer with every assignment, last night was a completely different story. The show was shot in Thailand and during the third episode the participants were completely surprised when they learned what the second shoot entailed. And let’s be honest, we completely understand why!
Attributes for elephants? Oh hell no!
The eight remaining candidates of Het Perfecte Plaatje Op Reis were taken to an elephant enclosure in Chiang Mai. When all kinds of attributes suddenly appeared, such as a beach ball, bicycle, dart board, easel and hoops, the mood changed. Gallyon immediately got a bad feeling about it and Fresia didn’t like it either. She said: “Everything I see, I see attributes that elephants have to do in tourist places. That makes me a bit uncomfortable.”
Tears and anger in The Perfect Picture on Travel
Kaj even got a lump in his throat from the objects in front of him. April was firm and said they need to draw a line here because it was unethical. Danny also felt that this was ‘no longer possible’ because we live in modern times. And Mark got angry: “If you see that mess lying around, that’s not possible!” Freesia finally shouted: “We’re not going to do this, boys!”
Plot twist in The Perfect Picture On Travel: not an animal-unfriendly assignment after all
But then came the plot twist in The Perfect Picture On Travel. Presenter Tijl explained that they were not going to do anything with the chosen props. After all, an elephant is a wild animal that you can only register, not direct. Images were shown of elephants being abused for ‘tourist entertainment’, for which they are first beaten with a stick with a hook. Really not done! Ultimately, the candidates had to make an ‘art photo’ of the elephants. Susan thought it was a fantastic assignment and said: “You know those elephants are well cared for here. That’s wonderful.”
Animal welfare above all
Let’s learn from this episode of Het Perfecte Plaatje Op Reis and always put the welfare of animals first. Also on holiday in Thailand or anywhere else. Elephants should simply be able to be elephants in their natural environment. Period!
