More Than Half Of The 147 Tigers Rescued From The Infamous Tiger Temple In Thailand in 2016 Are Now Dead
In 2016 authorities in Thailand had rescued 147 tigers from the controversial Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province. Now officials with Thailands Department of National Parks has said that in the three years since they were rescued more than half of the tigers have died. Only 61 of the rescued tigers are still alive and the authorities are struggling to keep them in good shape.
In 2016, authorities in Thailand had rescued 147 tigers from the controversial "Tiger Temple" in Kanchanaburi Province after it was found that the animals had been subjected to various kinds of abuses.
Now officials with Thailand's Department of National Parks has said that in the three years since they were rescued more than half of the tigers have died due to various illnesses.
AFP/FILE
According to a department press release, the tigers died due to two reasons- respiratory disease and Canine Distemper Virus, a serious, highly infectious disease that often affects dogs but has been found in a wide variety of big cats and other species.
These diseases, according to the officials were a result of inbreeding.
AFP/FILE
According to DNP officials, most of the tigers were already ill or their immunity had weakened significantly by the time they were rescued.
Only 61 of the rescued tigers are still alive and the authorities are struggling to keep them in good shape.
AFP/FILE
According to Edwin Wiek, the director and founder of Thai NGO Wildlife Friends Foundation (WFF), the tiger rescue was a "disaster waiting to happen" as authorities took on a job that they had not properly planned for and didn't listen to the advice of organizations like his.
He said WFF had suggested three years ago the cubs and female tigers should be separated, and that all the tigers should be spayed. Instead, the tigers were kept in small cages, where disease could easily spread.
AFP/FILE
It was in 2016 that the Thai police raided the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple, a Buddhist temple which was one of the most famous tourist hotspots of the region.
Animal rights groups had long accused that the monks at the temple which promoted itself as wildlife conservation center were involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals.
AFP/FILE
Following the raids, more than 40 dead tiger cubs and a bear were also recovered from the freezer of the temple.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
Read More
