More than half of the almost 150 tigers rescued from a tourist attraction in Thailand have reportedly died in captivity in the last three years.

The Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno temple west of Bangkok promoted itself as a wildlife sanctuary. It charged admission to visitors who would take photos with the animals and bottle feed their cubs.

Three years ago, 147 tigers were removed for the facility by the Thai government, follwoing allegations that they were being illegally bred.

Tourists had also reported that the animals seemed drugged.

After it emerged the rescued creatures had died, a senior official from Thailand’s department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation said their immune systems had been weakened by inbreeding.

Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Show all 10 1 /10 Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Thai officers carry a sedated tiger outside its cage at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple Getty Images Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Wildlife officials sedate a tiger at the Tiger Temple AP Thailand's Tiger Temple raid A tiger stands in a cage at a property in Saiyok district in Kanchanaburi province AP Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Thai army display a tiger skin found inside Tiger Temple as officials continue moving live tigers from the controversial place REUTERS Thailand's Tiger Temple raid A sedated tiger is stretchered as officials start moving tigers from Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, a popular tourist destination which has come under fire in recent years over the welfare of its big cats REUTERS Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Thai wildlife officials load a cage containing a tiger onto a truck after they removed it from an enclosure at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple AFP/Getty Images Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Tiger cub carcasses were found in jars containing liquid as officials continue to investigate the Tiger Temple REUTERS Thailand's Tiger Temple raid Thai officers observe the carcasses of 40 tiger cubs and a bear found undeclared at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple Getty Images Thailand's Tiger Temple raid A Thai wildlife official looks at a Malayan sun bear in a cage as found during a raid at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province EPA Thailand's Tiger Temple raid An official looks at a stuffed bear as they continue moving live tigers from the controversial Tiger Temple REUTERS

Prakit Vongsrivattanakul said they were said the tigers were particularly susceptible to the canine distemper virus.

"When we took the tigers in, we noted that they had no immune system due to inbreeding," he told state-owned broadcaster MCOT. "We treated them as symptoms came up."

Mr,​Vongsrivattanakul, the department's deputy director-general, did not give a figure for the number of tigers to have.

However, local media reports suggested 87 of the 147 rescued creatures had died.

Thai government officials could not be reached for comment.

While removing the tigers from the temple, Thai state officials reported finding the bodies of 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer.

They also discovered 20 glass jars containing baby tigers and tiger organs during a raid of the site.

A monk allegedly attempted to flee the site in a truck carrying more than 700 vials of tiger skin, as well as tiger teeth hidden in a suitcase.

"I am quite shocked," Teunchai Noochdumrong, director of the government's wildlife conservation office, said at the time. "We all have heard concerns and allegations about this temple. I would never have thought they would be so blatant."