Wildlife authorities in Thailand have made the horrific discovery of 40 dead tiger cubs inside a freezer at a Buddhist temple.
Following raids this week shocking images show several rows of tiger carcasses lined up along the floor, alongside a small bear, as well as jars, reportedly containing animal parts.
The Kanchanaburi province park – where tourists pay to pet and take pictures with the big cats and other animals – is now being accused of wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty after years of abuse allegations and illegal breeding.
The park is home to more than 100 tigers but earlier this week wildlife officials moved 52 live tigers, but 85 are still reportedly residing there.
The dead cubs were found in a kitchen area, Department of National Parks deputy director-general Adisorn Nuchdamrong said.
“They must be of some value for the temple to keep them,” he said.
“But for what is beyond me.”
Monks at the temple were not immediately available for comment but earlier this year park administers made a Facebook post claiming they only froze the tigers once they had died.
“Cubs do occasionally die for various reasons … in the past, as per Buddhist customs, these tiger cubs were cremated,” the Facebook post said.
“In 2010, the ex-vet of Tiger Temple changed this policy. Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen.
“We have documented all the deaths from 2010 and have photographic evidence of them still being within the temple.”
But these claims have not calmed animal activists.
According to the World Wildlife Fund one of the biggest problems conservation groups face is the killing of exotic animals for their parts and tiger’s are especially valuable on the black-market because of their use in traditional Chinese medicine.
