BANGKOK: Thai authorities charged three Buddhist monks on Thursday after they were caught trying to smuggle tiger skins and charms made from tiger parts out a temple which monks said was a tiger sanctuary but critics said was a money-spinning tourist trap.
The Buddhist temple west of Bangkok has long been popular with tourists who paid about $20 each to get in and pose for pictures with its tigers, and to feed cubs and walk among them.
But the temple had come under mounting allegations of abuse and illicit wildlife trafficking and authorities armed with a court order raided it on Monday to confiscate the 137 tigers found there and take them to a government wildlife sanctuary.
The discovery on Thursday of the tiger skins and charms, or amulets, made from skins in a pick-up truck, and jars containing the bodies of tiger cubs in the temple, pointed to an even more lucrative business than thought.
“The jars have labels, so I think they’ve made medicine here,” said an official.
Authorities found 20 glass jars containing baby tigers and tiger organs in a “laboratory” in the temple, reinforcing suspicion it was making folk medicine.
{{/usCountry}}Authorities found 20 glass jars containing baby tigers and tiger organs in a “laboratory” in the temple, reinforcing suspicion it was making folk medicine.
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