First three tigers removed from Tiger Temple
Yesterday, three tigers were removed with great difficulty from the controversial Tiger temple, Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno in Kanchanaburi. The Tiger Temple, about 100 kilometers west of the capital Bangkok, is run by monks. Tourists can take selfies with the animals and bottle feed tiger cubs.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), which wants to move all 137 tigers to shelters, was denied access to the site yesterday. Only after a judge had signed a search warrant could people enter the grounds.
The monks and employees of the temple continued to oppose the action. This is how she fed the tigers because it is dangerous for the animals to stun them. They also released tigers in a fenced area. As a result, only three tigers could be confiscated. A week was allotted for the relocation of the wild animals, which will now take longer. The plan is to transport 20 animals a day to their new home.
DNP Deputy Director General threatens to sue Temple for violating the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act (1992) if she blocks the move. It carries a maximum prison sentence of four years and/or a fine of 40.000 baht.
The temple is very controversial because it is suspected of illegal trade and illegal breeding of protected animals. Visitors have the impression that the animals are being drugged. But the temple denies that.
The temple has begun construction of a zoo, which has been authorized by the DNP. Activists have approached the administrative court. They want this license revoked because they fear that the temple can continue its illegal activities in this way.
(In the photo: A tourist takes a walk with a tiger in the Tiger Temple for a hefty fee)
Source: Bangkok Post
This morning I read in the newspaper that the entrance fee was 100,00 euros no way. They belong in nature.
Just like snake shows and crocodiles.
Just like: dolphins, seals, horses, elephants, parrots, parakeets, canaries, rabbits, rats, hamsters, pigeons, everything that lives in a terrarium and aquarium, actually all animals except the house dog and the house cat, or perhaps they would prefer that too. just like the Thai street dogs just run loose?
And what if the entrance was not 100 euros?
I am against making money under the guise of we are good monks, but tigers and all the other animals that were born in captivity you should go and have a look at them and if you dare take a picture.
I have yet to see the tigers taken out of there go on to a better life
jacqueline
Had been once with a friend and we didn't have a good feeling about it at all. It indeed seemed as if those tigers had been drugged, because they were as tame as a lamb and you could do anything with them. This is really not natural anymore.
Too bad they are not really safe in the wild either 🙁
yes I fell for it too, they only get cooked chicken meat, and have never seen or tasted blood, how naive I was.. especially the first time was a sensation and emotion with such a predatory animal., this is just the start, chickens, buffaloes, crocodiles, birds, etc. that must also be addressed.
That whole tiger thing is just plain commerce and the tourists who keep it going are not worth a dime. Those tigers belong in nature and not in that souped-up circus tent.
With or without holy monks.
Not only ordinary people can do it. Newspapers like it too. Lying I mean, or rather not (entirely) speaking or writing the truth. Violating the truth, distorting a message a bit and so on.
Fortunately, we went to the Tiger Temple last year before it was due to close. My Thai partner was allowed to decide for himself what he would give (฿20) and I had to pay six hundred Baht for it. A large amount for the Thai, but little when you see how many animals they have to support.
For that money you can look at these beautiful animals from an appropriate distance and a little closer to take some pictures for posterity or anyone else who might be interested in them. There are whole bunches of volunteers from all over the world, who speak to tourists and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
It is my understanding that this tiger husbandry came about because roaming young tigers were found and brought to the temple. Furthermore, there are animals with the most diverse ailments and diseases.
As always claimed on Thailand blog, wild animals would be better off in nature. That is only true for healthy animals that have always lived in the wild and perhaps for a few kittens that can be returned under good supervision. Certainly not for the adults.
I don't know and I can't quite understand why animal protection worldwide is making such a fuss about it. There are institutions all over the world that take care of animals and give them a relatively good life. Recently visited an elephant shelter. You never hear about them being returned to nature. And rightly so, but that also applies to all kinds of other animals that would not survive independently in nature.
So plan another visit to the Tiger Temple if you are going to see the bridge over the River Kwai and form your own opinion by talking to a lot of people there. A good experience.
Commercial exploitation of animals is wrong. Starts with the fact that it is a temple and there are monks, they should not ask for money. And now to say that it is for the care: yes, for the care of the temple and those involved. In nature, animals do not cost money, so if you care for an animal, accept that it costs money.
Instead of understanding the shelter : walk along for a while and watch how animals are trained: tigers are given sedatives and elephants are controlled with a razor sharp hook from an early age. In short, instead of a visit of an hour, experience it for a longer time and then form an opinion.
Short-sighted opinion if you think that taking care of tigers in this way and abusing other animals is good.
Read that a monk of the temple has land in his own name is in Germany, against the rules of the monks and reason to remove him from the order. In addition, animals belong in nature, if possible.
And that's the bad luck of the volunteers : 555 , Foreigners who can pay a lot to work as a volunteer. It's just a job but instead of income one pays an income to the temple.
This disgrace is common in Thailand to pluck the foreigners and get a financial benefit out of it.
It has nothing to do with free services and arts, but you offer something and also pay for it. How wrong !!!
However, these animals are not well cared for. Drugged, abused and bred. You call that good treatment. If you can take a picture with a WILD tiger and also pet the animal, then something is not right. we have been there ourselves 2 times. The first time in the old temple. Then it went somewhat, but the second time, you could very well notice that something was not right
You really have to be naive to think it's all OK there
Good that this is finally coming to an end. Those tigers lie there all day long because tourists want to take a photo on/with the animal if necessary. Exploitation of these beautiful animals. I think riding an elephant is exactly the same, if something goes wrong everyone complains. Yes, a tiger is not an animal to half lie down on and an elephant also has its problems. That is the problem of mass tourism. I'm glad the tigers get a better (less stoned) life.
Let the people who have been there judge first (I have been there anyway), and yes it is commercially set up but please note that the animals are well taken care of and there is enough space for the animals to walk around. As for the so-called anesthesia after the photo session, the animals are “released” from the safety chain, after which the tigers play playfully with each other, there is no sign of anesthesia when they jump from rocks into the waterfall to play with the supervisors. I can imagine that animals are not treated well in various zoos, which I certainly regret, I have not seen any of this in the tiger temple, do not forget that the tigers have the upper hand in their territory and humans are only a subordinate. It is a pity that in this situation the tiger temple is compared to the really bad zoos that should definitely be closed. The question is whether the tigers will get a better place in this situation than they had before. Greetings a true thailand blog enthusiast who has been staying in Thailand for several years.
Tigers are covered by the CITES treaty, which is based in Switzerland. Thailand has also signed this treaty. There will therefore be international pressure to stop this. A few years ago there was another kind of shelter with protected animals in Thailand, which has also been largely emptied. A Dutchman himself was involved in this. In the Netherlands we also have a few shelter foundations which are not entirely of the purest water, such as the Aap foundation and a bird shelter in the south of the country, which has gone bankrupt. Animals were also traded illegally here.
I don't hear anyone about the Tiger Garden in Si Racha, exactly the same thing happens there. Been there once, already 23 years ago, and still have a picture of me and my 3 year old daughter with a tiger, where she is sitting on the tiger. And what about the crocodile farms in Samut Prakarn and near Pattaya? Both have been and after the show you could have your picture taken with a crocodile, I don't hear anyone about it.
You rarely hear about this in the major media, but various organizations are working to stop this. It's a long-term thing, they say. A few years ago, tigers and elephants were not yet widely visible in the media. For example, there is also various advice not to swim with dolphins in Pattaya or visit crocodile shows in Thailand. The tiger temple is now also big news in the Netherlands. Inbred tigers and cubs for medicine production was heard on radio 1 this morning.
The idea is cute to put the animals back in nature, but where is there nature where there are no humans? in short, by putting them back in nature you endanger people who have nothing to do with it. As soon as those tigers are released in a reserve, there will be poachers because China always has something with parts of tigers that they use in remedies. in short, the animals come from the rain into the drip.
let them solve the stray dog problem first. For example, we have now taken in 4 street dogs and helped financially sterilize and neuter several dogs from the Thai neighbors around us.
greeting