The abbot, who had absconded during the raids on the temple meanwhile, returned but cancelled his scheduled press conference because of a “heart attack”. However, later he was seen inside the premises and he even waved to the waiting media.

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) insisted it has enough evidence against the abbot and is urging investigators to trace the temple’s earnings, estimated to be more than Bt100 million annually.

[Behind the Tiger Temple’s walls]

Earlier, Saiyut Pengbunchu, a lawyer for the Wat Pa Luangta Bua Foundation, had said that abbot Phra Vissuthisaradhera or Luang Ta Chan, would speak to the media yesterday. But the press meet was cancelled after the monk suddenly suffered an acute heart attack.

[Fine out more about the controversy of Tiger Temple]

Siri Wangbunkerd, a temple follower and former Bangkok MP, spoke to the press on behalf of the abbot and denied all allegations against the temple and Luang Ta Chan.

“The abbot knew nothing about the products from tigers or the remains of tiger cubs. These products were secretly produced by temple personnel who smuggled in the remains of dead tigers behind the abbot’s back,” Siri said. “The person involved decided to hide these items in the abbot’s room because he thought the officials would not check this room, as a result now it looks like the abbot himself was involved in this activity.”

He also said that the pickled tiger cubs were to be used for scientific research purposes and were to be displayed in the temple’s museum. They were certainly not for sale, he said. He also claimed that the DNP raid stemmed from conflict of interest, which involved DNP deputy director-general Adisorn Noochdumrong.

Adisorn said the DNP will inspect all tiger farms in Thailand for possible involvement in the trafficking.

He also said the temple’s financial transactions would be tracked.

 

SHOCKING discoveries continue being made at the infamous Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, as authorities dig deeper to see what this once-popular tourist attraction might be hiding.

Stickers touting “Supplementary Food: The Power of Tiger” and “Young Antler Herbs” were found inside the temple along with equipment for cutting antlers yesterday.

Also yesterday, a monk and two temple officials, Kongkiat Janpeng and Nate Kulruangkrai, were found trying to sneak away with tiger skin, nine engraved tiger fangs and more than 1,000 tiger amulets. Each such amulet is stuffed with tiger skin. All the suspects, including a monk, are charged with violating laws.

[Fine out more about the controversy of Tiger Temple]

Their arrest led to a raid of the uninhabited living quarters of abbot Luang Ta Chan, where a sizeable number of tiger skins and tiger amulets were found hidden inside many alms bowls.

“We suspect that monks might have been taking the tiger skin out of the temple under the pretext of doing their usual morning alms rounds,” said Adisorn Noochdumrong deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).

[Behind the Tiger Temple’s walls]

He said his team had been breaking into many locked parts of the temple, officially known as Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, to see what was being hidden.

“We have found more than 50 jars of pickled stillborn tiger cubs,” Adisorn said.

Meanwhile, Wildlife Conservation Office director Tuenchai Noochdumrong said officials had lodged complaints with police about animal carcasses being found inside the temple on Wednesday.

“As of now, we are trying to locate the more than 20 tiger cubs that seem to have disappeared from the temple despite being present for tourists to bottle-feed until very recently,” she said.

“We will seek help from police, military and administrative officials in trying to trace them.”

Tuenchai said these cubs were very young, possibly just a month or two old.

All these discoveries are fuelling speculation that the Tiger Temple, which once attracted hordes of tourists, might have been engaged in illegal wildlife trade.

However, Adisorn refused to confirm the accusation immediately.

“We will first be taking action against certain people over charges of illegal possession of protected wildlife,” he said, as his team continued to scour the grounds of the temple that spans over hundreds of rai. The DNP has also found a number of illegally felled logs inside the temple compound.

Meanwhile, further investigation is required to determine what exactly the Tiger Temple was engaged in. As of yesterday, there were just four monks in |residence. Normally, the abbot does |not stay in this monastery either.

Deputy National Police Commissioner Pol General Chalermkiat Sriworakhan said he had instructed investigators to dig deeper and nail down culprits. Last year, officials lodged a complaint against the Tiger Temple over the disappearances of three registered tigers. So far, the DNP team is moving 147 registered tigers out of the temple – 137 in an operation this week and 10 earlier this year. As of press time, 104 of the 137 tigers targeted for removal this week had been removed.

The tigers are being housed at two state-run breeding stations in Ratchaburi province.

 

The seven tigers that were taken to the Khaoson breeding station in Ratchaburi province on Monday night have so far shown no signs of stress.

The breeding station will house 58 tigers from the Kanchanaburi-based temple, known formally as Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno. As of press time, eight more tigers were heading for the Khaoson centre.

Adisorn Noochdumrong, deputy director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said as many as 137 tigers will be moved this week.

[Fine out more about the controversy of Tiger Temple]

“We should be able to transfer 20 tigers per day once we have successfully cordoned off those people who are not involved in the operation,” he said.

The authorities decided to take the tigers away from the temple – which charged Thais Bt300 and foreigners Bt600 for entry into its tiger zone – because wildlife is deemed state property.

Many of the tigers will also go to the Ratchaburi-based Khao Prathap Chang breeding station.

Meanwhile, Wildlife Conservation Office director Teunchai Noochdumrong is calling on tourists to stay away from the temple during the operation, as the temple’s officials and animal keepers are refusing to cooperate with authorities.

“We have evidence that some keepers deliberately unchained the tigers and we have lodged complaints against them for obstructing officials from doing their job,” she said.

 

It was the first batch of 137 tigers that the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has planned to take away from Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasam-panno, more widely known as the Tiger Temple.

The department’s deputy director Adisorn Noochdumrong led the yesterday’s operation himself. Adisorn was armed with a search warrant from Kanchanaburi Provincial Court, but the team’s work was made difficult because of the temple’s lack of cooperation and its decision to allow 10 tigers to roam free.

“We are trying to solve the problems step by step,” he said.

The department hopes to relocate all 137 tigers in seven days. Most of the tigers will be sent to the Khaoson and Khao Prathap Chang breeding centres in Ratchaburi province.

However due to the temple’s attitude, Adisorn admitted that the operation may take longer than seven days.

At the breeding centres in Ratchaburi, cages were cleaned in preparation of the animals’ arrival. The facility in Khaoson will take up to 58 tigers, while Khao Prathap Chang could take 80. Others could be sent to breeding centres across the country.

There was high tension at the temple yesterday as officials and representatives from the temple’s foundation met. When the department team arrived in the morning, it was refused entry.

Pol Colonel Suphitphong Phakcharung, vice-president of the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Foundation, said the group opposed to the action because the temple had raised the tigers for more than 10 years without a problem.

Government property

Suphitphong said he was looking forward to taking legal action against the department and would ask the court to revoke the search warrant.

Kasetsart University Faculty of Forestry lecturer Anak Pattanavibool said the authorities were right to relocate the tigers because the state was the animals’ rightful owner.

“The procedure to keep the tigers at breeding centres is the best choice we can do, because these tigers were raised in captivity and cannot be returned to the wild. Furthermore, many of them are Bengal tigers, which are not native to Thailand,” Anak said.

“We cannot give them to a zoo or other countries because they are the government’s property, so the government has to keep them until they naturally die.”

The department said seven tigers were given to the temple in 2001 to be raised on behalf of the state and the tiger population rose to the level it was at today.

But the department’s attempts to seize the animals were always rebuffed by the temple, officials said.

 

The temple, known as Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, is in a remote part of Kanchanaburi province but has come under the spotlight in recent years because of its sizeable tiger population.

The temple maintains that wild tigers have sought sanctuary in its compound and reproduced at the site, while critics point out that the temple is not a zoo and has no facilities to properly handle animals.

Last year, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) demanded the temple hand over its 147 tigers to authorities because it lacked permits to keep them.

Pol Colonel Supitpong Phakjarung, vice chair of the Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno Foundation and managing director of |Tiger Temple Company Ltd, said yesterday DNP chief Thanya Netithammakun had agreed to the company’s request for a zoo licence last Tuesday.

“We will construct facilities for the zoo over 25 rai [four hectares] of land. Construction should be completed in six months,” he said.