Everything is not what it seems. A jaw-dropping discovery was made by the Thai wildlife authorities this past week when they raided a Buddhist Temple known as the “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
After the authorities raided the temple they discovered the remains of 40 newborn tiger cubs in the temple’s freezers and about 20 more cubs and remains found in bottles and jars. Some of the cubs were thought to be five years old. The body of a binturong, known as the Southeast Asian bearcat and a critically endangered species, tiger pelts, tiger parts, an antler from a deer, and a cow horn were discovered as well. A truck was later stopped leaving the Buddhist temple carrying two tiger skins and other animal parts.
The frozen tiger cubs are highly valuable in Asia and in the black-market, specifically in the use of luxurious good and traditional Chinese medicine, because the species is endangered. These deceased cubs are believed to roughly be about 1% of the world’s tiger population.
The wildlife rangers were officially there to remove adult tigers from the temple in order to shut down the tourist attraction after receiving complaints about the temple trafficking endangered species. The Buddhist monastery is known for offering tourists, at a hefty price of $140 each, to have a chance of a close encounter with the big cats and do activities such as hand-feed and play with them. As a result, conservationists have accused the temple of abusing and exploiting the animals for their influx of tourism.
The business has been doing more harm than good. Tourist have complained about being attacked by the tigers, walk among the tourists at the temple. The tigers are also free to breed amongst themselves, which unfortunately has led to many of them to suffer blindness and chronic illnesses.
As of June 4, all 137 tigers have been officially removed from the “Tiger Temple”. Thorough checkups will be given to the animals to make sure they are in good condition. The operation for the tiger removal took officials almost a week. The confiscated tigers are being moved to a governmental sanctuary in Ratchaburi Province.
In total, five men, including three monks, have been charged with possession of endangered animal parts without permission. Officials have planned to file charges against the chief monk of the temple against individuals involved with the foundation that runs the “Tiger Temple”.
