My friend Jocelyn and I traveled back to Kanchanaburi to visit the Tiger Temple where we played with baby tigers and fed them! It is a program set up where all the profits go towards increasing the population of the Indo-Chinese tigers which are endangered species and then releasing them back into the wild in 20 years. There are currently only 1000 left in the world! It was such an amazing experience and relatively safe! The baby tigers reminded me alot of playful puppies. I also saw a few holstein cows wandering around which are definitely a lot smaller and thinner than the cows in Wisconsin. Happy cows are in Wisconsin!
The Tiger temple is NOT a conservation facility - they illegally interbreed various species of tiger, which will never be released to the wild as they would compromise wild tiger populations. This is Greenwash.
ReplyDeleteFollowing repeated complaints from tourists and volunteers working at the temple about tigers being shockingly mistreated there, Care for the Wild International (CWI) undertook an intensive two year investigation. The resulting CWI report reveals illegal wildlife trade, animal cruelty, false conservation claims and visitor safety risks at the Temple.
You can read the report at: http://www.careforthewild.com/projects.asp?detail=true&I_ID=580&mypage=Reports
You can view the letter sent by the International Tiger Coalition to the Thai authorities about the Tiger Temple here:
http://www.careforthewild.com/files/itc_letter_oct_08.pdf
This issue has widespread media coverage:
CWI's press release - "Illegal tiger trade, cruelty and human health hazards at famous tourist destination":
http://www.careforthewild.com/files/tt_news_release%2020-06-08.pdf
"Black market tigers linked to Thai Temple, Reports says"
National Geographic News, 20 June 2008:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080620-tiger-temple.html