Tiger cub bodies found in Buddhist temple
40 tiger cub bodies have been found in freezer at Thai Buddhist temple accused of wildlife trafficking and animal abuse.
Thailand's Tiger Temple has been investigated for animal trafficking
Wildlife authorities found the bodies of 40 dead tiger cub in a freezer in Thailand's Tiger Temple on Wednesday.
The authorities were there on a project to remove live animals in response to international pressure over suspected trafficking and abuse.
The Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province become popular among tourists as a place to snap selfies with bottle-fed cubs.
But the temple has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and abuse.
A raid that began on Monday is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control.
"They must be of some value for the temple to keep them," said deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks Adisorn Nuchdamrong. "But for what is beyond me."
Tiger parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Officials have moved 52 live tigers from the temple since Monday, Adisorn said, leaving 85 still there.
Thailand has long been a hub for the illicit trafficking of wildlife and forest products, including ivory. Exotic birds, mammals and reptiles, some of them endangered species, can often be found on sale in markets.
