Thailand is set to close down its famed Tiger Temple, popular among Indian and foreign tourists, as an anti-trafficking raid launched for the relocation of 137 adult tigers at the Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province found carcasses of over 40 tiger cubs and a bear stuffed in the freezer in which food for tigers is stored. The Buddhist temple, a tourist destination where visitors snapped selfies with bottle-fed cubs, has been closed for visitors since the grisly discovery on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation teams started a week-long process of relocating 137 tigers, mostly Bengal tigers, amid allegations of illegal trafficking and animal mistreatment by the temple named Wat Pa luangta Bua Yannasampanno.
Deputy Director-General of the wildlife department Adisorn Nuchdamrong claimed the temple had never registered the dead cubs. He believed the carcasses must be of some value for the temple to have kept them. The tiny tiger cubs found after authorities stormed the temple’s secret stash were aged between day’s old to one-week old.
The Buddhist temple started keeping and breeding tigers 15 years ago and has promoted itself as a spiritual sanctuary where wild animals and humans can peacefully coexist. But in recent years it was investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and animal abuse. The raid that began on May 30 is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under State control, which was being widely obstructed by the monks. Animal rights activists were long campaigning against the temple’s possession of the big cats, describing it as “hell for animals” and called on tourists to stop visiting animal attractions at home and abroad. Observers tweeted that the cubs appeared to have been killed recently.
However, monks have vehemently denied the allegation. The temple denied charge that the monks carry out irresponsible breeding programmes, traffic endangered species and sell the animals. Suphitphong Phakcharung, vice-president of the Wat Pa luang Ta Bua Foundation, said the group opposed to the relocation action because the temple had raised the tigers for more than 10 years without a problem.
Some animal rights organisations have claimed the tigers appear sedated when interacting with tourists and have accused the temple of being a facade to cover illegal animal trafficking.
Kasetsart University Faculty of Forestry lecturer Anak Pattanavibool said the authorities were right to relocate the tigers because the State was the animals’ rightful owner. “The procedure to keep the tigers at breeding centres is the best choice we can do, because these tigers were raised in captivity and cannot be returned to the wild. Furthermore, many of them are Bengal tigers, which are not native to Thailand,” Anak said.
In the first batch, more than 100 tigers will be taken away from the Tiger Temple, said the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The department hopes to relocate all 137 tigers in seven days. Most of the tigers will be sent to the Khaoson and Khao Prathap Chang breeding centers in Ratchaburi province.