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Bodies Of 40 Tiger Cubs Found In Freezer During Raid Of Controversial ‘Tiger Temple’ — Buddhist Temple Accused Of Abuse

By Janice Malcolm
Published on: 00:05 PST, Jun 1, 2016

The remains of 40 newborn tiger cubs have been discovered by Thailand wildlife authorities in a freezer at the controversial “Tiger Temple” in the Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok. Police say the gruesome discovery was made early on Wednesday.

The Buddhist temple has been a favorite of many tourists who get to snap selfies with bottle-fed cubs, but the temple has been under investigation by the Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) and was suspected of involvement in wildlife trafficking and abuse. The Tiger Temple has had a long-running dispute with animal rights groups and the authorities, and a current operation to remove dozens of adult cats from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple is what led to the discovery of the bodies of the 40 tiger cubs.

The WCO will be investigating the motives behind any possible reason the temple could have for storing the bodies. The organization’s director, Teunjai Noochdumrong, says they are also looking into the possibility that the temple may have been taking part in the smuggling of tiger parts. According to the Daily Mail, local police officer colonel Bandith Meungsukhum advised that as of right now, they are unable to determine how long the cubs’ bodies were in the freezer.

“We found 40 tiger cubs today, they were aged about one or two days when they died but we don’t quite know yet how long they have been dead.”

The wildlife officials intend to file a new criminal complaint due to the discovery, and Noochdumrong believes that this is a reason to have the Buddhist temple’s license to rear tigers should be revoked. The discovery indisputably points to a broken agreement between the organization and the temple, as the WCO was supposed to be informed of all new cubs born at the temple.

The only reason why the Tiger Temple has long proved to be such a hit among the mainly foreign visitors it attracts is because of the fact that they could, for a fee, be photographed next to the numerous exotic feline pets. The whole complex has long been thought to be illegal, and wildlife officials have been fighting to close it down for years but have encountered issues because the secular Thai authorities do not often intervene in the affairs of the clergy. However, the fight to bring the tigers under state control has been ongoing since 2001.

The current raid was made possible after a court order was given this week for the officials to seize the cats. Thus far, they have removed 52 live tigers from the temple since Monday. However, 85 are still there.

Along with the dead bodies of the cubs, a deer antler and the body of a Southeast Asian bearcat, called a binturong, as well as the horn of a cow, were also found.

The Irish Mirror advised that traditional Chinese medicine does often include tiger parts, and Adisorn Nuchdamrong, the deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, said that the freezer where the bodies of the 40 dead tiger cubs were being kept was in the kitchen area of the controversial temple. Nuchdamrong stated that though he cannot possibly imagine why they did it, the monks had to have kept the tiger cubs’ bodies for a reason. If the temple officials had intended to smuggle the remains of the tiger cubs, they could face up to four years in jail or have to pay a fine of up to $1,121 (THB40,000).

Officials at the Tiger Temple continue to deny all intent to traffic the tigers.

Illicit trafficking of wildlife and forest products, including ivory, is something that Thailand has long been known for. The country is home to many exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles, some of which are endangered species. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the temple is “hell for animals” and called for tourists to stop visiting animal attractions both at home and abroad.

One of the reasons the state was reluctant to close down the Tiger Temple is that they had no definitive place to house the Tigers.

[Photo by National Parks, Wildlife, Plant Conservation/AP Images]

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