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looks like the temptation from money making with tratitional chinese medicine was a little bit to big for this buddhist monks

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36423321

" 1 June 2016
From the section Asia

Image caption Visitors can pet and feed tigers at the popular tourist attraction

Thailand's Tiger Temple is causing more controversy this week as authorities move to put an end to the popular tourist attraction. As the BBC explains, the temple has long been shrouded in allegations of animal abuse and trafficking.

What is the 'Tiger Temple'?

Tiger Temple, also known as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bu Yannasampanno, is located in Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok.

It received its first tiger cub in 1999 and an additional seven more in the same year. The temple was recorded to have at least 137 tigers in 2016.

The majority of the tigers are Bengal tigers, with others being hybrid breeds. There are also reports of jackals, hornbills and Asian bears being kept in the sanctuary without the necessary permits.

Visitors are charged 600 Thai Baht ($16, £11) for entry into the temple, with additional costs to pet or feed the tigers. And thousands of people flock to it every year to have their pictures taken with the animals.

Image caption The Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province west of Bangkok is a popular tourist destination

There are other places in Thailand that also charge a fee to have close encounters with tigers, but this is the biggest and most popular with tourists by far, according to the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has actively been campaigning for the release of the tigers since 2004.

What is the controversy?

Buddhist monks who run the temple have long faced accusations of mistreatment of tigers, illegal breeding and animal trafficking, all of which they have repeatedly denied.

Former workers have claimed the tigers are beaten, not well fed, in need of veterinary care and kept in small concrete cages. Earlier this year a National Geographic report alleged the monks are operating a for-profit breeding business.

There is evidence to suggest that wildlife trafficking has taken place, says the WFFT, without providing specific examples.

Image caption Authorities and NGOs approach the Tiger Temple on Monday in an attempt to carry out rescue operations

In December 2014, three adult male tigers vanished from the temple. They had been micro-chipped, a legal requirement for captive endangered animals in Thailand, which allows them to be tracked.

The temple's veterinarian Somchai Visasmongkolchai later came forward after resigning from his post to say that the microchips had been cut out of the three males.

What do the monks say?

The temple posted on its Facebook page on 4 March that posts accusing the temple of selling cubs to the black market were "not true", adding that some volunteers had "jumped to conclusions".

Image caption The temple's monks had initially resisted efforts by authorities to enter the temple

It added that allegations that the relocation of the tigers was due to animal welfare were "far from the truth".

The temple has an annual income of around 100m Thai Baht ($2.8m, £1.9m), according to the WFFT. The monks have also admitted to generating "some income" from tiger cub activities.

So why are the tigers being removed now?

There has been an ongoing battle between wildlife groups and the monks since 2001.

The Department of National Parks (DNP) has tried on multiple occasions to confiscate the tigers but was stopped from entering the temple by the monks.

More recently, the temple applied for a zoo licence that would have enabled them to legally continue holding the animals. This was provisionally granted, but then revoked soon after.

Image caption The animals will be taken to two government animal refuges across Thailand

On Monday, authorities, the WFFT and other NGOs launched a large-scale raid on the tiger temple to confiscate the tigers.

"The monks were at this one small entrance gate, the only gate to the temple and they were refusing entry to anyone," Tom Taylor, assistant director of the WFFT, who was present at the time of the raid, told the BBC.

However, on Tuesday officials obtained a court order that allowed them to force their way in to the temple.

How is the operation being carried out?

A total of 40 tigers have been rescued within the first two day of the week-long operation, Mr Taylor said. At least 97 more tigers will be rescued in the 1,000 personnel operation.

Image caption Anaesthetic syringes were prepared by veterinarians as they got ready to remove the tigers from an enclosure

However, the temple's lack of co-operation, which saw them release the tigers off the chains so it was harder for authorities to catch them, could see the operation extended, Mr Taylor said.

Four tigers also escaped overnight and started killing off other domestic animals in the premises. They were caught soon after.

Image caption Wildlife officials carried the tigers on stretchers after they were anesthetised

NGOs and authorities are also now feeding the tigers still remaining in the temple, as the monks have now refused to feed the animals, Mr Taylor said.

On Wednesday, an additional 40 dead tiger cubs were found in the temple's freezer. Additional animal body parts were also found by authorities.

Image caption The cubs were found in a freezer in the temple's kitchen

What will happen to the tigers?

The tigers will be transferred to two governmental breeding centres in Thailand's Ratchaburi Province.

They will not be released to the wild as they would have little chance of survival.

"The fact that they are hand-raised tigers means they have very little fear of humans or wildlife instincts. So at the moment, the plan is to provide them with wildlife care," said Mr Taylor. "They would not be able to survive in the wild." "

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36424091

"Thailand Tiger Temple: Forty dead cubs found in freezer

1 June 2016
From the section Asia

Image caption The temple recently made plans to operate as a zoo, but the government ruled against it

Forty dead tiger cubs have been found in a freezer at a Thai Buddhist temple accused of wildlife trafficking and animal abuse.

Police and wildlife officials started an operation on Monday to remove all the living tigers at the Tiger Temple.

Pictures from journalists at the scene posted to social media showed the 40 cubs lined up on the floor.

The site in Kanchanaburi is a popular tourist attraction but has been closed to the public since the raid.

Temple's long history of controversy

Police Colonel Bandith Meungsukhum told AFP news agency that wildlife officials would file new criminal charges after the discovery, and added that the cubs were just one or two days old when they died.

He said it was not yet clear how long they had been dead.

The dead cubs "must be of some value for the temple", Adisorn Nuchdamrong, from Thailand's Department of National Parks, told Reuters news agency. "But for what is beyond me."

Tiger bones and body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Monks at the temple were not available for comment but have previously denied trafficking allegations.

Image caption The temple has long been accused of mistreatment, though the monks deny the allegations

In a statement on its Facebook page, the temple said the mortality rate for tiger cubs at the temple was "comparatively low" and that it used to cremate dead cubs but a vet changed the policy in 2010 "probably to keep as proof against the allegations of selling cubs".

Chris Coots, an Englishman who has volunteered with the tigers, told the BBC that the remains were frozen as proof that cubs who died of natural causes were not being sold into the wildlife trade.

He said: "A number of the bodies are in a state of decay as they have been there over five years.

"It would seem strange to keep the bodies that long if the intent was to sell them. This will be easily clarified by decomposition tests."

Body parts from other animals were also found in a freezer, Tom Taylor, from Wildlife Friends Foundation, told the BBC.

A reporter from the Khaosod news website said he had seen animal intestines in containers, a dead boar and other animal parts.

Image caption The cubs were found during a week-long raid of the temple to remove all living tigers

Dozens of living tigers have already been removed, out of 137 at the temple. The 1,000-strong police operation is due to continue all week.

Some workers and volunteers at the temple spoke out against the operation.

But the World Wildlife Fund welcomed the news and called on the Thai government to prohibit the temple from keeping tigers in future.

Since 2001, authorities have been locked in a battle with the monks at the temple to confiscate the tigers after allegations of wildlife trafficking and abuse surfaced.

The monks deny any wrongdoing.

The temple, officially known as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, has been a stop on many tourists' itineraries for decades. Visitors could pose for photographs with the tigers or help with their exercise routine.

But animal rights campaigners have long campaigned to close it down. Peta said animals there are "imprisoned and denied everything that is important to them"."

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Edited by lancaster (04/06/16 03:30 PM)