MONKS CHARGED WITH WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING AFTER YET ANOTHER GRUESOME DISCOVERY OF 20 DEAD CUBS IN JARS !
Thai police have charged 22 people, including three Buddhist monks, with wildlife trafficking as they continue to make gruesome discoveries at the infamous Tiger Temple.
They made the horrifying find just two days after uncovering the bodies of 40 dead tiger cubs in freezers on the temple's grounds.
The temple has long been a major tourist attraction, with visitors paying 600 baht (£12) admission to pose for photographs with the tigers.
Wildlife activists have accused the temple of illegally breeding the tigers while some visitors on online forums complained that the tigers appeared sedated.
Adisorn Nuchdamrong, from Thailand's Department of National Parks, said 22 people had been charged with wildlife possession and trafficking, including 17 members of the temple's foundation and three monks trying to flee with a truckload of tiger skins.
'We found found tigers skins and amulets in a car which was trying to leave a temple,' Noochdumrong said on Thursday.
He said a search of several monks' quarters turned up more body parts, bringing Thursday's haul to two full-body tiger skins, around ten fangs and dozens of smaller pieces of tiger fur.
The discovery comes after authorities found thee carcasses of forty tiger cubs have been found crudely stuffed into freezers following a raid on a Buddhist temple which is believed to be involved in illegal trafficking and animal cruelty.
For decades the infamous Tiger Temple has been a popular stop for tourists who pay a steep fee to pet and be photographed with the predators - which animal rights groups say are heavily sedated.
The latest finds back up long-running accusations that the Tiger Temple is involved in the illegal wildlife trade, breeding tigers and selling dead and live animals on the black market..
Animal rights activists have long accused the temple of mistreating the tigers.
The government suspects the monks have been involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals.
The monks had turned back previous attempts to take the tigers away and continued to resist Monday morning.
But they relented that afternoon after police obtained a court order to carry out the action.
'There was some resistance from the community, they didn't understand why we were taking them (the tigers) from the temple when they look so peaceful and fine at the temple,' Thailand's Wildlife Conservation Office Teunjai Noochdumrong said.
'We tried talking to them, explaining to them that the tigers belong to the country.'
The monks still don't understand, but at least did not put up physical resistance, she said.
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Thai-police-charge-22-wildlife…
No comments:
Post a Comment