Astonishing Secrets At Tiger temple

For an example of how far wildlife traffickers are willing to go, look no further than neighboring Thailand. In a case that has roiled even hardened wildlife officials, police officers discovered the carcasses of 40 newborn tigers in a kitchen freezer at a famous Buddhist temple in central Thailand.

Conservationists campaigned long and hard for years to rescue captive tigers from Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, popularly known as the “Tiger Temple,” in Kanchaburi province, near Bangkok, where the iconic predators were used as tourist draws by resident monks who allowed visitors to pose for pictures with the animals … for a hefty fee, of course. Yet even the most pessimistic animal rights activists could not possibly imagine the extent of shenanigans at the rural temple, which had been marketing itself as a benign sanctuary for tigers and other endangered animals.

When, after years of complaints from conservationists against the temple over its maltreatment of animals, Thai officials finally decided to raid the premises and take away the 134 tigers kept there, they discovered the remains of the dead cubs. Investigators suspect the newborn tigers were planned for use in magical potions that can fetch exorbitant prices on the black market.

Among the other gruesome finds discovered at the temple, Thai police officials also confiscated two tiger skins, hundreds of talismans made from tiger parts, numerous tiger claws and teeth, as well as jars filled with the organs of protected animals for use in amulets, magical potions and traditional medicine. Temple officials have publicly denied that the resident monks were planning to profit from the sale of these and other illegal items made from endangered species, but few people are buying it.

The shocking case highlights the dangers that emblematic animals like tigers face at every turn. Even some institutions that profess to work to protect them may in fact be profiting from the animals by using them as props for tourists and selling their parts on the illegal wildlife market after the animals die, be it of natural causes or not.

Is the situation different in Malaysia? Hardly. Several popular tourist destinations, including a hot spring in Sabah and a crocodile farm in Sarawak, have recently been revealed to mistreat endangered animals like sun bears in their care while forcing them to languish in neglect and squalor. Any cases of animal abuse are a disgrace and a shame.

As for tigers, whether they are in Thailand or Malaysia and whether they live in captivity or in the wild, they have to fear but a single species: us. It tells us a lot about the dire state of the world when it comes to wildlife conservation that even some Buddhist monks, who are supposed to live by a credo of “do no harm,” clearly cannot be trusted to have the best interests of animals they claim to protect at heart. For shame.

Close Tiger Farms!

Close tiger farms. That's what the Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has called on governments in Asia to do. The conservationist group issued its call on occasion of International Tiger Day on July 29.

Closing such farms, where the animals are bred in captivity and routinely exploited for commercial purposes, would assist in the fight against the illegal sale of tigers and their parts across the region, WWF explains. According to the nonprofit, around 200 tiger farms operate in Asia, most of them in China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. They are home to around 8,000 tigers.

That's double the number of tigers that are life in the wild in Asia. Many tiger farms have been accused of selling tiger parts clandestinely, thereby fueling the demand for them on the illegal wildlife trade. The farms' "existence undermines efforts of countries to protect cats living in the wild and creates demand for products made of tiger parts," WWF says.

In June, officials in Thailand raided the so-called Tiger Temple, a Buddhist monastery which was popular with tourists who flocked to the site to take pictures with tigers. They discovered a house of horrors at the site with dozens of dead cubs preserved in formaldehyde, as well as scores of tiger teeth, several tiger pelts, and numerous other objects that were destined to be sold on the black market as magical talismans or potions. The temple's 134 tigers were taken away to a government facility.

A good thing too. That said, simply closing down all tiger farms, or many of them, cannot be done without proper forethought and planning. Their tigers, which have been born in captivity, have become used to the presence of people and so they could not survive on their own in the wild. They would have to be relocated to other captive settings. Rather, the farms should be phased out step by step so as to ensure the well-being of tigers kept there.

The farms claim to be sanctuaries for tigers, yet they serve no conservation purpose whatsoever. Often animals from different subspecies are allowed to interbreed, which dilutes the characteristics of each subspecies. Such crossbred tigers could never be used to help replenish wild populations in places like Malaysia or Thailand, where native tigers are on their last legs in the wild. Essentially the farms operate either as petting zoos for visitors or as places where tigers are harvested for their parts with little concern for the well-being of the animals.

“Stopping all trade in tiger parts, and phasing out these tiger farms, is of the utmost urgency if the tiger is to survive in the wild,” Susan Lieberman, director of the Species Programme of WWF International, said. “It is time for the world community to join together, with tiger range state governments, to stop all poaching of tigers for illegal trade."

She said those words back in 2009. Sadly, not much has changed since then.

THAILAND: Tiger Temple Closed

A well-known tiger temple in Kanchaburi province has been closed for tourists' safety as authorities relocate the remaining 137 tigers from the temple. Adisorn Noochdumrong, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), instructed authorities Tuesday to erect a sign outside Wat Pa Luang Ta Maha Bua, known as the Tiger Temple, to prohibit visitors from entering the temple in Sai Yok district to ensure their safety.

So far, 40 out of 137 tigers have been relocated from the temple to the Khao Pa Son Wildlife Breeding Centre in Ratchaburi's Chom Bung district. Of the 40 tigers, seven were transferred on Monday night while the rest were removed Tuesday.

The relocation of the wild animals started on Monday evening after the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court approved a warrant allowing the DNP to search the temple the same day.

On Monday morning, the department sought the search warrant after more than 300 national park officials and police officers, led by Mr Adisorn, were obstructed as they tried to remove the tigers from the temple. The temple's entrance was blocked with barriers to prevent authorities from entering. Failed talks between the department and the temple prompted the department to seek the warrant.

Authorities were also stationed at the temple Tuesdayto make sure the situation stayed under control as some tourists and temple officials had gathered to protest against the tigers' relocation.

Pattharapol Manee-on, a veterinarian with the DNP, said the relocation of the tigers has been going smoothly as the mission was well-planned to minimise effects on the tigers.

The relocation effort was being monitored by veterinarian teams. The department also took the fastest route from the temple to the centre, he added.

According to the DNP's plan, 58 tigers will be transferred to the Khao Pa Son Wildlife Breeding Centre while the rest will be relocated to the Khao Prathap Chang, another breeding centre in the same province.

The Tiger Temple, which housed 147 tigers, 10 of which were relocated earlier this year, has been accused of being involved in the illegal wildlife trade.

THAILAND: Tiger Temple

Monk and tigers during walk in the quarry

Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno is a Theravada Buddhist temple in western Thailand. It was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, among them several tigers, the majority of which are Indochinese tigers. The temple has long been accused by animal rights activists of mistreating the tigers for commercial gain and even trafficking some of its animals.

Tiger Temple is in the Sai Yok District of Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province, not far from the border with Burma, some 38 km (24 mi) northwest of Kanchanaburi on Hwy 323. The Tiger Temple charges an admission fee.

The temple was cleared of allegations of animal mistreatment in a 2015 investigation conducted by wildlife officials and a raid by Thai soldiers. Charges were pressed for unlicensed possession of 38 protected birds found on the temple grounds.

In 1999 the temple received its first tiger cub, one that had been found by villagers. It died soon after. Later, several tiger cubs were given to the temple. As of January 2016, the number of tigers living at the temple exceeded 150.

The original eight tigers brought to the temple were rescues, and thus far DNA data is incomplete and therefore unavailable to the public, as the pedigree of the tigers is not entirely known. However, it is presumed that they are Indochinese tigers, except Mek, a Bengal tiger. It is possible that some may be the newly discovered Malayan tigers, as well as cross breeds or hybrids.

It is claimed that the Tiger Temple's philosophy for animal conservation is flawed, and an organization called Care for the Wild International claimed that based on information collected between 2005 and 2008, the Tiger Temple is involved in clandestine exchange of tigers with the owner of a tiger farm in Laos contravening the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and national laws of Thailand and Laos. It claimed it operates as a tiger breeding facility without having a license as required under the Thai Wild Animals Reservation and Protection Act of 1992.

Tourists can take a photo with a grown tiger or a small cub

According to Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends of Thailand, the temple's operations violate CITES, an international treaty on wildlife to which Thailand is a signatory, which bans commercial breeding of protected wild animals such as tigers. All previous attempts by authorities to remove the tigers from Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno have failed, including one in May 2015. Wiek believes this is due to the influence wielded by the temple and its abbot, Phra Wisutthisarathen.

Based on the Care for the Wild International report, a coalition of 39 conservation groups, including the Humane Society International, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, World Animal Protection, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, sent a letter to the director general of National Parks of Thailand under the name "The International Tiger Coalition".

The letter urged the director general to take action against the Tiger Temple over its import and export of 12 tigers with Laos, its lack of connection with accredited conservation breeding programs, and to genetically test the tigers at the Tiger Temple to determine their pedigree and value to tiger conservation programs. It concludes that the temple does not have the facilities, the skills, the relationships with accredited zoos, or even the desire to manage its tigers in an appropriate fashion. Instead, it is motivated purely by profit.

In December 2006, ABC News spent three days at the temple and did not see any evidence of drugging or mistreating the animals. Both Thai and Western employees who were interviewed claimed that the animals were well-treated. The abbot of the monastery stated that the eventual goal was to breed tigers for release into the wild.

Monk walking tiger on a leash

In 2014, Care for the Wild International called for an end to "tiger selfies" in a global campaign coinciding with International Tiger Day. The charity's CEO, Philip Mansbridge, was quoted as saying: "I know people will immediately think we're overreacting or just out to spoil people's fun. But the reality is, one quick pic for you means a lifetime of suffering for that animal." The charity estimates that there are up to 60 incidents a year (of varying severity) of captive tigers mauling tourists or volunteers at places like Tiger Temple.

On 2 February 2015, an official investigation of the temple commenced by forest officials. After initially being sent away, they returned the following day with a warrant, policemen, and soldiers, seizing protected wild birds and impounding the tigers on the premises. The head of the Wildlife Crime Suspension office stated the park did not have the proper permits for raising the birds. The tigers were impounded pending further investigation into the tigers' documentation.

In January 2016 two reports were issued regarding the abuse and mistreatment of tigers at Tiger Temple.National Geographic alleged that the Buddhist monks there are operating a for-profit breeding, selling, and exploitation business with the enslaved tigers.