"Tourists need to be aware that their once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close to a tiger causes a lifetime of suffering. A selfie with a tiger is cruel, so don't do it."
An investigation by international animal welfare charity World Animal Protection has exposed that Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple Co. Ltd. is planning to re-open under the new name Golden Tiger (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
"Tiger farms have nothing to do with conservation - they just bring extreme suffering to these wild animals whilst living in appalling conditions. "These venues need to be stopped in their tracks because they clearly have links to the dark side of wildlife trafficking rings."
- Tiger cubs cruelly separated from their mothers, two to three weeks after they are born
- Young cubs used as photo props with tourists, constantly viewed and mishandled hundreds of times a day, which can lead to stress and injury
- Tigers being punished to stop aggressive unwanted behavior. One staff member told our researchers that starvation is used to punish the tigers when they make a 'mistake'
- Most tigers were housed in small concrete cages or barren enclosures with limited access to fresh water. 50% of the tigers we observed were in cages with less that 20sqm per animal, a far cry from the 16-32km they would roam in a single night in the wild
- One in ten (12%) of the tigers we observed showed behavioral problems, such as repetitive pacing and biting their tails. These behaviors most commonly occur when animals feel they cannot cope with stressful environments or situations.
Dr. Schmidt-Burbach adds:
"Tourists need to be aware that their once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close to a tiger causes a lifetime of suffering. A selfie with a tiger is cruel, so don't do it."
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