The Elephants Show

Elephants have featured in Thai culture for centuries and they are recognised as a symbol of national identity, but what there was once a symbol of strength and intelligence reflects now some of the struggles and injustices in Thailand’s development. In this serie, people from Nam Tok, a small village 200 km north of Bangkok, are attending a show where elephants dance, play football and let kids ride them on their back. Brutal methods are used to force elephants to display unnatural behaviours such as dancing and playing football and they are tortured in order to become completely submissive to humans. Even riding an elephant it's a cruel practice which hurts elephants and is detrimental to their long-term health. But what can be seen as an harsh injustice is yet part of a complex situation: today, tourism is the only viable source of income for mahouts and their elephants and the process of deforestation in Thailand is leading to a shortage of remaining habitat for these elephants to survive. Fortunately over the last years efforts have being made by many associations to allow elephants to return to a more natural environment and there is now a much growing government and community concern for elephant welfare.