40 dead cubs recovered from monastery; monks charged tourists $17 for ‘Tiger Selfies’

Thai officials when cracked open a freezer in the controversial Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand on Wednesday, an unbelievable and unnerving sight shocked them as there were bodies of 40 frozen tiger cubs.

The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi is just like any typical Buddhist temple till wildlife authorities took action this week, freeing over 100 tigers that lived under the monks' care. The temple came into authorities’ eyes when it started attracting tourists and controversy.

Though the whole recovery from temple took officials by surprise, the temple's two-decades-long history is tarnished by accusations that the monks used to bred tigers for profit making and were involved in wildlife trade.
"We don't know why the temple decided to keep these cubs in the freezer," Thailand's Department of National Parks official Anusorn Noochdumrong told the Associated Press. "We will collect these carcasses for DNA analysis."

The monks have denied any impropriety on their official Facebook saying that freezing the bodies was a practice instituted by a veterinarian who had previously worked at the monastery, possibly "to combat the allegations" that the temple had sold dead cubs and tiger parts.

It is reported in the news reports that officials nabbed a monk who had loaded his car with tiger parts while attempting to escape the zoo during the raid. "Today we found tigers skins and amulets in a car which was trying to leave a temple," Anusorn told the Agence France-Presse on Thursday. Inspection of the monks' living quarters also revealed a collection of fangs, fur patches and a pair of whole tiger pelts.

The temple is located in an area of Thailand close to wild tiger habitat and opened in 1994. There were no big cats for first five years, until February 1999 when the monks rescued a tiger cub.

The article first published on www.lafdatv.com