Bangkok: Under fire over illegal breeding and trafficking of tigers, troubles further mounted for Thailand's infamous Buddhist Temple today when 40 tiger cubs were found dead in a freezer.
Thai wildlife authorities discovered the bodies when they were removing live tigers from the temple in response to international pressure.
“The cubs were found in a freezer where the temple staff kept food”, said Anusorn Noochdumrong,” said an official from the Department of National Parks.
"We don't know why the temple decided to keep these cubs in the freezer," Anusorn said. "We will collect these carcasses for DNA analysis."
The cubs appeared to be up to a week old, he said. Authorities plan to file charges against the temple for illegally possessing endangered species, he said.
The temple, a popular tourist attraction, has been criticized by animal rights activists because of allegations it is not properly set up to care for the animals and flouted regulations restricting the trade of tigers.
The monks resisted previous efforts to take away the tigers, but relented this week after police obtained a court order.
The temple recently made arrangements to operate as a zoo, but the plan fell through when the government determined that the operators failed to secure sufficient resources.
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