Tigers declared extinct in Cambodia

[skye]

Human beings won't be happy until there is no vestige of animal life left on earth.

Too sad for words.

 

[Mr Natural]

Human beings won't be happy until there is no vestige of animal life left on earth.

Too sad for words.

You know how it is with us humanoids; if you can't make a buck off of it, what good is it?

 

[skye]

Human beings won't be happy until there is no vestige of animal life left on earth.

Too sad for words.

You know how it is with us humanoids; if you can't make a buck off of it, what good is it?

I know, it's horrible!

 

[anotherlife]

Human beings won't be happy until there is no vestige of animal life left on earth.

Too sad for words.

Satanic.

 

[waltky]

Last tiger removed from Thai temple, monks arrested...

Last tiger leaves Thailand temple as monks arrested
Mon, Jun 06, 2016 - ‘DISGUSTING’: A volunteer, who had worked at the temple for six years, said she felt sick at the sight of the tiger parts found in a truck that belongs to the temple

The last tiger, sedated and caged, left the Tiger Temple in Thailand on Saturday in the back of a pickup truck. The abbot who founded the Buddhist-themed zoo has vanished. And five people, including three monks, have been arrested on suspicion of wildlife trafficking. The removal of the last of 137 tigers after a week-long operation effectively shut the tourist attraction, where visitors — many of them foreign tourists — could touch tigers and feed them by hand. Conservationists had long believed that the zoo was a front for illegal trafficking in tiger parts and on Thursday, authorities said, they found their strongest evidence yet that monks and staff members were involved in that trade.

A search of a truck leaving the temple compound found more than 1,600 illegal items, including two tiger pelts, tiger-skin amulets, tiger teeth and 67 tiger-skin lockets with photos of the temple’s abbot, Luangta Chan, inside. Other grisly finds over the week included 40 dead tiger cubs stored in a freezer and 20 more preserved in jars. The closing of the tourist attraction at the temple, Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, was a victory for conservationists in a predominantly Buddhist country, where government officials often give deference to religious leaders.

National park officials prepare to move a sedated tiger from the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand​

The Thai Wildlife Conservation Office has for months sought to remove the tigers and battled the temple’s lawyers in court before winning an order allowing it to start seizing the big cats on Monday. Thirty veterinarians, 60 parks department rangers and more than 250 others were involved in the operation. Those who were arrested told police that the items in the truck had come from the abbot’s rooms at the monastery, officials said. “Just because you are a temple or a monk doesn’t mean you are above the law,” Teunchai Noochdumrong, who heads the conservation agency, said. “The evidence we have is enough to file charges of trafficking against them.” The temple promoted itself as a place where people and tigers could coexist in harmony. Tourists paid as much as US$140 for the experience.

Officials said the temple was making US$5.7 million per year from ticket sales. Much of the business of caring for the tigers was carried out by foreign volunteers, who also helped put a good face on the operation. One of them was Tanya Erzinclioglu, a British volunteer tiger coordinator who is passionate about the animals and worked at the temple for six years. Speaking frequently on behalf of the temple, she consistently denied charges that it was involved in wildlife trafficking. However on Thursday, she witnessed the search of the truck that held the tiger parts, watching an officer hold up a pelt that he had pulled from the truck. “I felt sick,” she said on Saturday. “It was not only a slap in my face, it was disgusting.” She said she felt used and betrayed by temple officials.

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Probe into Thai 'Tiger Temple' ends, 22 charged in wildlife trafficking
June 4, 2016 -- Authorities in Thailand are seeking legal action after completing a five day-operation to seize more than 100 tigers from Thailand's "Tiger Temple," which has been linked to animal abuse and trafficking.

Wildlife Conservation Office director Tuanjai Noochdamrong declared the operation, which saw 137 tigers tranquilized and transferred out of Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple, completed Saturday, as police prepared to take legal action against the temple and its operators.

According to The Nation, police charged 22 suspects including three Buddhist monks with trafficking, as Royal Thai Police commissioner Pol Gen Chaktip Chaijinda said authorities had begun investigating Tiger Temple's connection with international wildlife trading. "We are tracking on this topic very closely and will check if all wildlife products that were found in the temple are linked to the international wildlife trade or being stored for what purpose," he said. "I want to assure that we have a clear plan for investigation and have information about a wildlife smuggling group." Wildlife officials found animal remains including the dead bodies of 40 tiger cubs at the temple near Bangkok.

Other remains including tiger pelts, talismans made from tiger parts, stuffed animal carcasses and animal skeletons were found both in the temple and near the residence of the temple's abbot who left the temple prior to the operation. Authorities relinquished control of the compound following the transfer operation, but no representatives of the temple were present at the time. While separate from the issue of animal trafficking, Tuanjai said that the temple could have its license to operate as a zoo revoked.

Probe into Thai 'Tiger Temple' ends, 22 charged in wildlife trafficking