A Thai DNP veterinarian
officer assists a sedated tiger at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple
on June 1, 2016, in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand. Wildlife
authorities in Thailand raided a Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi
province where 137 tigers were kept, following accusations the monks
were illegally breeding and trafficking endangered animals. (Dario
Pignatelli/Getty Images)
Warning: Graphic images may disturb some readers.
Thai authorities found forty dead tiger cubs in a freezer at Tiger Temple on June 1, during part of a days-long raid.
The discovery came after Wildlife officials in Thailand started
removing dozens of the 137 tigers at the Buddhist temple after monks
were accused of illicit acts. Monks at Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi
province, a popular tourist destination, were allegedly involved in
illegal breeding and trafficking of the exotic animals.
Authorities say wildlife officials will file new criminal charges
after the finding, adding that the cubs were only a day or two old when
they died, according to AFP.
The dead cubs “must be of some value for the temple,” Adisorn
Nuchdamrong, from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, told Reuters.
“But for what is beyond me,” said Nuchdamrong.
Bones and body parts of tigers are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Other animal body parts were also found in a freezer, Tom Taylor, from Wildlife Friends Foundation, told the BBC.
The monks at Tiger Temple said on Facebook that they kept the dead cubs after a request from a veterinarian in 2010.
“He made that decision probably to keep as proof against the
allegations of selling Cubs,” said the company, adding that prior to the
vet’s decision, monks would cremate the animals.
The monks also said the mortality rate for tiger cubs at Tiger Temple were “comparatively low,” but didn’t provide a number.
The average newborn tiger mortality rate is 35 percent, according to the Association for Zoos and Aquariums.
Chris Coots, a volunteer for the operation, told the BBC that the
remains were frozen as proof that cubs who died of natural causes were
not being sold into the black market.
“A number of the bodies are in a state of decay as they have been there over five years,” he said.
“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,”
added Coots.
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