Tiger Temple

Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno (วัดป่าหลวงตาบัว ญาณสัมปันโน), was a Theravada Buddhist temple in the Sai Yok District of Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province in the west of the country. It was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, among them tigers, mostly Indochinese tigers. A "commercial" temple, Tiger Temple charged an admission fee.

The temple has been accused by animal rights activists of mistreating the tigers for commercial gain and even trafficking some of its animals,[1] though in 2005 it was cleared of allegations of animal mistreatment in an investigation by wildlife officials and a raid by Thai soldiers. Charges were pressed for unlicensed possession of 38 protected birds found on the temple grounds.[2]

In May 2016, the Thailand Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) began capturing and relocating the tigers, intending to close the facility.[3][4] Authorities counted 137 tigers on the premises, and the frozen bodies of 40 cubs, some of them dead for more than five years.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference KSE-20160120 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "'Tiger temple' cleared of abuse". Bangkok Post. Associated Press. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. ^ Olarn, Kocha. "'Mayhem' as authorities try to capture 137 tigers at Thai temple". CNN. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  4. ^ "At 'Tiger Temple,' Thai Officials Seize 33 of the Big Cats". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Thailand Tiger Temple: Forty dead cubs found in freezer". BBC. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.