(TH) Tiger Temple Sues Top Wildlife Activists Over Cruelty Claims

[Guest guest]

THE NATION (English Language Thai publication) 9th February 2010

 

The " Tiger temple " in Kanchanaburi has sued two top wildlife activists and a

reporter for defamation over claims of animal torture, illegal possession of

wildlife and alleged trade in tigers to other countries without permit.

Staff at the " Tiger temple " , formally known as Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua

Yannasampanno Forest Monastery, say the charges are groundless.

Local conservationists Edwin Wiek and Surapon Duangkhae were handed by police to

Kanchanaburi court last week, but the journalist refused to turn up.

The three are being sued after a news report in Thai Post in April last year in

which claims were made about animal torture, illegal possession of wildlife at

the temple and illicit trade of a protected species. The activists and animal

welfare experts quoted in the article were critical of the temple.

The " Tiger temple " , located north of Kanchanaburi town, is a well-known

attraction that welcomes hundreds of foreign tourists a day to see and be

photographed with tigers.

The fee to enter is Bt500 per person, and taking " special photos " with the

tigers costs Bt1,000 extra. People can also pay Bt4,500 for a morning in which

they feed tiger cubs and watch an exercise session.

The temple is a huge money spinner, but questions have been raised about the

safety of its operations and legality of monks running a virtual private zoo. It

is believed to have got a zoo permit – for a separate location – only late last

year.

Yearly revenue was estimated at Bt30 million in 2006, and is likely to be much

more now.

Wiek, a Dutchman who runs a highly regarded animal rescue centre in Phetchaburi,

is no fan.

" At least a dozen tigers are being dragged from their small enclosures every

afternoon down to a sunbaked hot valley to pose with tourists. These tigers are

extremely lethargic and allegations have been made that they are drugged, " he

said.

" When tigers are not obedient before, during or after the photo session they are

pulled by their tails and/or hit with wooden sticks on their backs and heads. We

just want this torture and suffering to stop. "

Wiek and Surapon, who is with the Environmental Network of Thailand, have been

freed on bail.

They and others say pulling tigers by the tail causes serious damage to their

spine and is known to cause paralysis if done on a regular basis.

According to a report by Care for the Wild International (CWI), a non-government

group based in the UK: " CWI investigators uncovered disturbing evidence of

serious conservation and animal welfare concerns, including illegal tiger

trafficking, systematic physical abuse of the tigers held at the temple, and

high risk interactions between tigers and tourists. "

The manager at the Tiger temple, Athithat Seemanee, had a different view:

" Brutality to the tigers here is not true. A lot of the pictures (that show

torture of the animals) are old, when the Tiger temple did not have any income.

Now they are fed well with boiled chicken and canned dog good.

" As for the pulling the tail and punching tigers on the head, these are ways to

make a tiger obey. It is similar to training dogs or elephants. Some physical

pain is needed to discipline them for pictures. "

Athithat said there were 50 tigers at the temple and many were born there.

DNA tests have reportedly proven that the tigers are hybrids and of little

conservation value.

" We plan to release these tigers into a tiger island we are building. It should

be ready soon. There they will have more space and less interaction with people.

We have 70 people taking care of the tigers at the temple and proper medical is

given to them, " Athithat said.

The tiger island was to have been completed in 2008 and Athitat was unwilling to

give a specific date for its opening, which has been postponed many times.

[Guest guest]

'DNA tests have reportedly proven that the tigers are hybrids and of little

conservation value.'

 

" Because physical traits such as size and color vary greatly among

individual tigers even within a region, the early subspecies classifications

based on small samples of data were not dependable. However, due to

widespread promotion of this 'eight subscpecies' concept by conservation

agencies and the international zoo community, it has taken deep root in the

public mind and significantly influenced conservation decisions. Recent

evidence indicates that these putative subspecies may not be real at all.

The genetic evidence suggests that about 20,000 years ago, tiger populations

were interconnected, at least across mainland Asia.

 

These findings imply that conservationists should worry less about the

so-called subspecies, and think more about preserving representative samples

of the wonderful variation in tiger ecology we can still observe across the

range of the big cat. Understanding tigers of the past helps us to know how

tigers came to be where they are now ; understanding the tigers of the

present will help us realize how and where tigers can live in the future. "

 

---------Ulhas Karanth, winner of the John Paul Getty Award for

Conservation, writing in his book, 'The Way of The Tiger', pages 34 and 35.

 

 

" The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that

it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of

mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible. "

Marriage and Morals by Bertrand Russell (1929) Ch. 5: Christian Ethics

 

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Mark <fishvetmj

Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 7:03 PM

(TH) Tiger Temple Sues Top Wildlife Activists Over Cruelty

Claims

aapn

 

 

 

 

THE NATION (English Language Thai publication) 9th February 2010

 

The " Tiger temple " in Kanchanaburi has sued two top wildlife activists and a

reporter for defamation over claims of animal torture, illegal possession of

wildlife and alleged trade in tigers to other countries without permit.

Staff at the " Tiger temple " , formally known as Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua

Yannasampanno Forest Monastery, say the charges are groundless.

Local conservationists Edwin Wiek and Surapon Duangkhae were handed by

police to Kanchanaburi court last week, but the journalist refused to turn

up.

The three are being sued after a news report in Thai Post in April last year

in which claims were made about animal torture, illegal possession of

wildlife at the temple and illicit trade of a protected species. The

activists and animal welfare experts quoted in the article were critical of

the temple.

The " Tiger temple " , located north of Kanchanaburi town, is a well-known

attraction that welcomes hundreds of foreign tourists a day to see and be

photographed with tigers.

The fee to enter is Bt500 per person, and taking " special photos " with the

tigers costs Bt1,000 extra. People can also pay Bt4,500 for a morning in

which they feed tiger cubs and watch an exercise session.

The temple is a huge money spinner, but questions have been raised about the

safety of its operations and legality of monks running a virtual private

zoo. It is believed to have got a zoo permit – for a separate location –

only late last year.

Yearly revenue was estimated at Bt30 million in 2006, and is likely to be

much more now.

Wiek, a Dutchman who runs a highly regarded animal rescue centre in

Phetchaburi, is no fan.

" At least a dozen tigers are being dragged from their small enclosures every

afternoon down to a sunbaked hot valley to pose with tourists. These tigers

are extremely lethargic and allegations have been made that they are

drugged, " he said.

" When tigers are not obedient before, during or after the photo session they

are pulled by their tails and/or hit with wooden sticks on their backs and

heads. We just want this torture and suffering to stop. "

Wiek and Surapon, who is with the Environmental Network of Thailand, have

been freed on bail.

They and others say pulling tigers by the tail causes serious damage to

their spine and is known to cause paralysis if done on a regular basis.

According to a report by Care for the Wild International (CWI), a

non-government group based in the UK: " CWI investigators uncovered

disturbing evidence of serious conservation and animal welfare concerns,

including illegal tiger trafficking, systematic physical abuse of the tigers

held at the temple, and high risk interactions between tigers and tourists. "

The manager at the Tiger temple, Athithat Seemanee, had a different view:

" Brutality to the tigers here is not true. A lot of the pictures (that show

torture of the animals) are old, when the Tiger temple did not have any

income. Now they are fed well with boiled chicken and canned dog good.

" As for the pulling the tail and punching tigers on the head, these are ways

to make a tiger obey. It is similar to training dogs or elephants. Some

physical pain is needed to discipline them for pictures. "

Athithat said there were 50 tigers at the temple and many were born there.

DNA tests have reportedly proven that the tigers are hybrids and of little

conservation value.

" We plan to release these tigers into a tiger island we are building. It

should be ready soon. There they will have more space and less interaction

with people. We have 70 people taking care of the tigers at the temple and

proper medical is given to them, " Athithat said.

The tiger island was to have been completed in 2008 and Athitat was

unwilling to give a specific date for its opening, which has been postponed

many times.