Tiger cub carcasses are seen in jars and live tigers rescued from the controversial Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand (Picture:REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)

An intense in-breeding program at a popular tourist site has led to the deaths of 86 rescued tigers in just three years.

The DNA from all 147 tigers taken to the government-run wildlife sanctuary could be traced to six original breeding stock animals, causing them to be susceptible respiratory failure.

Speaking at a news conference today, national parks official Patarapol Maneeorn said such inbreeding ‘affects their well-being, resulting in disabilities and weakened health condition.

‘And when they have weakened genetic traits, they also have problems with their immune system as well.’


Wildlife campaigners have said the cramped conditions the rescued tigers have been kept in facilitates the spread of disease.

A sedated tiger lies inside a cage prior to its removal from the Tiger Temple (Picture: EPA)

For more than a decade, tourists at the temple in western Kanchanaburi fed and posed for photos with the tigers, despite concerns about possible mistreatment and suspicions of wildlife trafficking.



During its raid in 2016, police found tiger skins and teeth, at least 1,500 amulets made from tiger bones and, perhaps most distressing of all, 60 cub carcasses stuffed in freezers and in jars of formaldehyde.

Tiger parts, such as ground bones, are popular as traditional medicine in Asia and their hides can sell for tens of thousands of dollars in China.

The site was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animal but has been accused by animal rights activists of mistreating the tigers for commercial gain and even trafficking some of its animals

The National Geographic reported that the monks operated a for-profit breeding business to supply the black market.

Tiger cubs were found in freezers and jars (Picture: Reuters)

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand said it had ‘serious concerns’ about the temple and supported the animals’ removal over links to the illegal trafficking of animals.

The temple’s monks deny accusations of animal abuse, trafficking and illegal breeding while the tigers were under their care, the BBC reports.

The site has been closed to the public since 2016, and several legal cases are ongoing.

In December 2014, three adult male tigers that had been micro-chipped, a legal requirement for captive endangered animals in Thailand, went missing from the temple.

The temple’s veterinarian Somchai Visasmongkolchai resigned and handed over three microchips, which he said had been cut out of the missing tigers.

Thai vets check on a sedated tiger prior to its removal from the temple (Picture: EPA)

There are about 1,000 tigers in captivity in Thailand and only about 200 in the wild out of a global wild population of about 4,000.

Patarapol said authorities would do their best to care for the surviving rescued tigers.

‘We are mobilizing team members, increasing our readiness and adjusting our plan.

‘We will provide the best care possible.’

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