Tiger Sanctuary in Thailand Closes Amid Accusations of Wildlife TraffickingBy Richard C. Paddock v
Tiger Sanctuary in Thailand Closes Amid Accusations of Wildlife Trafficking By Richard C. Paddock via The New York TimesThe last tiger, sedated and caged, left the Tiger Temple in Thailand on Saturday in the back of a pickup truck. The abbot who founded the Buddhist-themed zoo has vanished. And five people, including three monks, have been arrested on suspicion of wildlife trafficking.The removal of the last of 137 tigers after a weeklong operation effectively shut the tourist attraction, where visitors — many of them foreign tourists — could touch tigers and feed them by hand.Conservationists had long believed that the zoo was a front for illegal trafficking in tiger parts, and on Thursday, the authorities said, they found their strongest evidence yet that monks and staff members were involved in that trade. A search of a truck leaving the temple compound found more than 1,600 illegal items, including two tiger pelts, tiger-skin amulets, tiger teeth and 67 tiger-skin lockets with photos of the temple’s abbot, Luangta Chan, inside.Other grisly finds over the week included 40 dead tiger cubs stored in a freezer and 20 more preserved in jars.The closing of the tourist attraction at the temple, Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, was a victory for conservationists in a predominantly Buddhist country where government officials often give deference to religious leaders.The Wildlife Conservation Office has sought for months to remove the tigers and battled the temple’s lawyers in court before winning an order allowing it to start seizing the big cats on Monday. Thirty veterinarians, 60 parks department rangers and more than 250 others were involved in the operation.Continue reading on The New York Times -- source link
#thailand#wildlifeproject#wildliferights