The department also took the fastest route from the temple to the centre, he added.
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Approximately 40 tigers were removed in the raid, and officials told Reuters they plan to return for the remaining animals.
A group of nearly a dozen NGO’s from Thailand and authorities will coordinate to decide what the next step for the tigers will be, says WFFT. Well, the problem is the temple wasn’t allowed to profit from the tigers as part of a deal with the country’s Wildlife Conservation Office. The 1,000-staff operation expected to be continued for 7 days.
“Many people are asking why confiscate the tigers?”
Authorities told NBC it would take at least a week to relocate the temple’s 137 big cats.
Earlier this year, an on-site investigation by National Geographic discovered that veterinarians were cutting legally mandated microchips out of the tigers, and that several animals had inexplicably gone missing.
A previous raid in February 2015 revealed jackals, hornbills and Asian bears kept at the sanctuary without the necessary permits.
The Ayurveda Buddhist monks who run the temple got their first tiger in 1999, CBS News reported. And a leaked contract signed by the temple’s abbot in 2005 reveals the “sanctuary” was actively involved with Laotian commercial tiger-breeding operations.
The Buddhist temple faces allegations of mistreatment of its Tigers.
Although the Thailand Tiger Temple is open to the public, the monks are prohibited from charging admission.
The Guardian reports Thailand is notorious for the black market trading of wildlife, including exotic birds, reptiles, and various mammals.
Teunjai said the temple in western Kanchanaburi province is still admitting tourists, but her personnel are warning visitors of the possible dangers of being present during the moving process.
Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) accused workers at the sanctuary of misusing the animals and abusing them in order to make money.
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The government introduced new animal welfare laws past year but activists accuse authorities of not enforcing the legislation properly.
