Tiger, tiger, making cash T

HEY come here in their thousands, lured by the promise of getting close to a fully-grown Bengal tiger. Maybe they’ll snap a few selfies and scratch the big cat behind the ears, admire that beautiful coat and go away thinking, “Wow! Tigers! So Cool.”

Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, a temple near Kanchanaburi, north of Bangkok, began keeping tigers in 2001. It purported to be a “wildlife sanctuary” where injured wild animals could be rehabilitated — but for years animal rights activists have accused the temple of mistreating the tigers for commercial gain. According to various reports, the authorities finally acted after tourists complained that they had been attacked by the temple’s tigers.

This week the authorities finally shut “Tiger Temple” down, following a raid in which the corpses of 40 tiger cubs as well as a bear and other wildlife were found packed into freezers, fuelling speculation that the temple has been selling tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

CNN reported that there was mayhem at the temple when officials arrived to shut it down, with some tigers roaming freely.

“When our vet team arrived, there were tigers roaming everywhere,” Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) director Teunjai Noochdumrong told CNN. The WCO rounded up and sedated 137 tigers, but what will happen to them is not clear.

The Guardian reports that Thailand is a global hub in the wildlife trafficking business, with exotic animals being traded as pets and for their meat — boosted by demand from China. Along with tiger bones, demand for ivory products and rhino horn has also soared, the results of which can be seen in Africa’s plummeting rhino and elephant populations.

With legal action now pending against Tiger Temple’s guardians, the role of tourism in the country’s animal abuses is likely to come under the spotlight.