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THAI WILDLIFE OFFICIALS have discovered dozens of dead cubs at a controversial “tiger temple” which has been locked in a long-running dispute with authorities and animal rights groups, police said.
Wildlife officials found the tiger cubs during a continuing operation to remove dozens of adult cats from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi.
“We found 40 tiger cubs today, they were aged about one or two days when they died but we don’t quite know yet how long they have been dead,” police colonel Bandith Meungsukhum, a local officer, told AFP.
He added that wildlife officials would file a new criminal complaint following the discovery.
The temple has long proved a hit among mainly foreign visitors who flock there to be photographed – for a fee – next to the scores of exotic feline pets.
Wildlife officials say the whole complex is illegal and have battled the monks for years to try and close it down. The dispute has been complicated by the fact that secular Thai authorities are often reluctant to intervene in the affairs of the clergy.
This week officials were granted a court order to seize the cats and have so far removed more than 30 adults.
Animals rights groups have accused the temple of complicity in the hugely lucrative black-market wildlife trade, making tens of thousands of dollars by selling off older cats and animal parts for use in Chinese medicine.
Disappeared
Last year one of the temple vets turned whistleblower, handing authorities three microchips he said were inside a trio of tigers who had disappeared. It has never been fully established what happened to those tigers.
In February 2015 wildlife officials also conducted a raid and discovered dozens of hornbills, jackals and Asian bears that were being kept at the sanctuary without permits.
The temple has always denied trafficking allegations.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the temple said it was common for cubs to be stillborn or die shortly after birth.
The temple said it used to cremate dead cubs but the policy was changed in 2010.
“Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen,” the statement added, without elaborating on why the policy was changed.
The temple also denied selling cubs, saying such rumours were from people who have “jumped to conclusions”.
Moves to confront the monks and confiscate the tigers have been staggered over recent months. There are now believed to be around 100 tigers remaining at the temple.
For years the government has been seemingly powerless to resolve the issue, partly for fear of being seen to confront the clergy and also because officials readily admit they have nowhere else to put such a large number of tigers.
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Good to see shops lowering their prices. They make too much of a profit anyway and usually sell items at a massive markup.
@Sam Lean: that’s to pay for rent, staff, utility bills, insurance, the list goes on. Plus if you were to invest your money in opening a shop wouldn’t you want a decent return on your investment and risk. Whatever people are willing to pay that’s what you sell for. How else would you see a scarf in brown Thomas for several hundred euro or a t-shirt for a fiver in penny’s.
@Sam Lean: So why don’t the same rules apply to the likes of petrol stations an power suppliers
Wetherspoons near me – have made the other pubs nearby reduce their prices!
More recently with a lower value sterling,prices should be coming down even more but i wouldn’t be holding my breath.If you still compare pricing in Tesco or other british owned stores,there is a huge disparity on prices especially when currencies are factored in.
So when competing companies sell at a lower price the market reacts and reduces its prices. I think I learned that concept in Bus Org in 1st year at school.
Ya gotta love competition!!
Grafton St and Henry St!! No other shopping areas outside the Pale?
No.
It boggles my mind to see so many people buy the s€€€ that penny’s sell.
Im not a label person but penny’s products are completely substandard.
Sweat shop slavery, made for kids by kids and they pass the slavings on to the customers.
@Trevor Hayden: You’re 100% right. It’s not like people typically shop in Penny’s out of pure neccessity. It’s because people are greedy and want, want, want without a second thought about where their products come from or their ramifications. It’s grotesque. The same people claim people who shop more conscientiously have “notions”. God forbid your ethical clothing costs more than a basic lunch.
@Trevor Hayden: all clothes retailers have sweatshops, people who make clothing for more expensive shops don’t get paid any better
@Rui Firmino: I’m usually 100% in agreement with you except I know for a fact my Lanvin sweaters were made in Italy by workers receiving a fair wage in good condition. Sure, they cost me 4-500€ but the last me years, never change shape, colour or fit and it’s production respected people.
@Titus Groan: Not talking about jigh end clothes, the likes of H&M, Zara, Topman and others pay their workers as bad as Penneys
@Rui Firmino: Yeah, completely true.
It’s called competition but the Grafton days are numbered. The footfall is in decline and the shops are just charging to high prices to pay for the high rents.
20.5% increase in rents predicted for Grafton Street but a 1.5% drop in footfall? Either Savilles are trying to hype up the market (quelle surprise) or some property speculators are just stupid.
So if shops are lowering their prices… does this mean the poor workers making this stuff to satisfy the ridiculous amount of fast fashion consumption who already getting a crap wage are going to be even worse off? Great. I hope this makes everyone feel good.
have your say