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Tiger Temple - Horrific find.
As the authorities remove the tigers from the temple this week - some very disturbing finds have been made.
Dozens of dead Tiger kittens http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail...sid=1464757648 I finds it hard to understand how people can say they visited this place and then concluded that everything was fine. how could they possibly tell what was going on behind the scenes? |
What baffles me is what made the Thai wildlife/police authorities wait this long in spite of the fact the whole world has been crying foul,for years now !!
A delusional aspect of some stupid, looney monk's 'relation' to tigers, a self proclaimed protector and even more stupid people who would pay money for photo ops. What were the Authorities doing ?? |
Such a horrible find. How many years did they actually know about this? Decades.... And I predict very little will be done against those who committed this atrocity.... Here all you need to do is wear a saffron robe and you can get away with SO much...
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Any outfit that arranges to have tourists treat large carnivores as if they were pets is rotten. This one just turns out to be even worse than you might think.
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My God. I hope it's shut down forever.
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Yes, I'm glad to see that it is finally being shut down.
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One can only assume that government officials were being bribed, otherwise why would this be allowed to go on for so many years?
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There appear to be several threads on this - the "Teflon Temple" - one would hope maybe this time some mud will stick....but lets remember that this temple's connections go so high that face cannot be lost.
Furthermore a company belonging to them was granted a licence to keep 70 tigers last month.......one feels that this may just be an unpleasant interlude. Maybe as this is getting mass international coverage, visitors to Thailand will finally start to appreciate at least to some extent how corruption graft and nepotism permeate every nook and cranny of Thai society. |
There appear to be several threads on this - the "Teflon Temple" - one would hope maybe this time some mud will stick....but lets remember that this temple's connections go so high that face cannot be lost.
Furthermore a company belonging to them was granted a licence to keep 70 tigers last month.......one feels that this may just be an unpleasant interlude. Maybe as this is getting mass international coverage, visitors to Thailand will finally start to appreciate at least to some extent how corruption graft and nepotism permeate every nook and cranny of Thai society. |
I hope this turns in to something positive too. But you are correct about the corruption and graft here in Thailand. It certainly is not unique but oh my goodness is it deep and blatant...
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The revelations of this place have surprised many of the inspectors.....
"Apart from 137 live tigers, they found a laboratory, suggesting that the monks were using tiger parts to make wines and medicines – as well as the carcasses of 40 cubs stored in a freezer." One of the main obstacles of brining this place to task has been the refusal of the public to accept the evidence that has been s=taring them in the face for over 10 years - why? because they were in denial, i guess - if they had visited the place they then refuse to come to terms with how they have been supporting this disgusting trade. The criminals who ran this place are just the tip of the iceberg - the trade in endangered species is enormous and hugely profitable to the same people who traffic drugs and humans as well.....the traffickers aren't stupid, they know how to bribe officialdom and which countries are easiest to do this - they also know how gullible the public is. |
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/wo...ref=world&_r=0
"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." The abbot has disappeared. A volunteer, who worked there for six years and fronted for the temple, now feels "used and betrayed by temple officials" Of course, there was also the volunteer who saw through the operation, but was vilified here when she said so: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ri---avoid.cfm |
I would hardly say she was vilified. Yes, there was back and forth about the veracity of the reports, but I mark that thread as the beginning of the consciousness-raising here about the tiger temple. We did ask that she give her bonafides and she did, and she continued to post (at least one) update on the investigation of the tiger temple. I, for one, appreciated her courage in speaking up. Prior to that post, the posts on the tiger temple were primarily from people who visited the temple with Tong and thought it was amazing. Once people had been alerted to the situation, the posts changed in tone - many more negative reviews and volunteers willing to speak up.
I want to thank bushchick for alerting us back in 2008. |
I'm afraid she was most certainly vilified as were ALL postings criticising the temple -
. - If you want to check the comments it's there in black and white. they were even questioning her motives or "right" to post on Fodors |
there will be more to come from CEE4Life...
17May Cee4life Report Extension Identifies Tiger Temple Tiger Body Part Sales, Gifting and International Transport by Cee4life - Conservation & Environmental Education 4 Life Bangkok, 4th May 2016 The Australian organization, Conservation and Environmental Education 4 Life (Cee4life) has presented the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand with a 2nd twenty eight page report on findings of illegal selling, gifting and international transport of tiger body parts coming directly from the Tiger Temple, Thailand. This new report is an extension of the scathing nine year long investigative report "The Tiger Temple Report" http://cee4life.org/tiger-temple-report/ that Cee4life released in January 2016, which revealed CCTV, video, audio and documented evidence of long term illegal national and international wildlife trading of tigers and other abuses. Director of Cee4life, Sybelle Foxcroft, stated "We have had this tiger body part evidence for a very long time however it was unable to be included into The Tiger Temple Report" due to some pivotal unfinished investigations". Foxcroft continued, " We now have completed this section of the report which leaves no doubt that these crimes are of such a serious nature including multiple breaches of the Thai Law, multiple breaches of the CITES agreement, multiple breaches of International Laws within numerous countries, along with the serious impacts that can occur to the unknowing public, and the sinister repercussions that occur upon persons who have tried to reveal the truth, all of which stems directly from the Tiger Temple." "At this point, due to the disturbing and serious nature of this report, it will not be released into the public forum at this point in time." National Geographic reporter Sharon Guynup and photographer Steve Winter reported on January 2016 Tiger Temple Report, and also found further evidence of the illegal wildlife trafficking of the tigers of the Tiger Temple. - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...ficking-laos0/ |
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