Thai Temple part of tiger trafficking network

Police investigating Thailand’s now infamous Tiger Temple found what they believe was a slaughterhouse and tiger holding facility used in a suspected animal trafficking network.

The discovery yesterday is the latest in a growing scandal surrounding the Buddhist temple, which was a popular tourist attraction that charged admission for visitors to take photos with the tigers and walk them on leashes.

Last week, authorities removed more than 137 tigers from the temple grounds and also found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer and 20 more preserved in jars.

Acting on a tip, police raided a home yesterday about 45km from the temple in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand and found four live tigers and a dozen empty cages, said police colonel Montri Pancharoen, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division, which oversaw the raid.

Investigators believe the house served as a slaughterhouse, he said.

“We believe it was used by the Tiger Temple to hold live tigers before slaughtering them for their skins, meat and bones to be exported outside the country, or sent to restaurants in Thailand that serve tiger meat to tour groups,” he said.

The house had a work area with a large chopping board and a variety of knives he said.

Police detained two caretakers at the facility who claimed the tigers were the private property of the home’s owner, said the colonel. Police were searching for the owner who was not there during the raid.

“The Tiger Temple is just a starting point, or a supplier,” he said. “We have information that the Tiger Temple is not the only place that supplies tigers to illegal smugglers.”

Animal rights activists have long accused the temple of mistreating its tigers. The government suspects the monks have been involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals.