Starved of light and food, Thai temple 'sun bear' dies pitifully

[Rancid]

Is not part of being "evolved" humans that we care for both the environment of the planet that bore us and the other creatures that cohabit with us?

If not are we nothing but sociopathic barbarians?

[WonnabeBiker]

<deleted> are they feeding him?!? Spicy soup, or bland rice?

Is it true that vets refuse to put animals down?

Sometimes, it's an act of mercy. And as a cat lover, I've paid for that in my home country, when a stray cat was too sick to be accepted by a shelter.

[retarius]

No one is coming out of this incident with much credit. I would suggest that more facts need to be known before judgement is passed by commenters on the monks, temple, Buddhism and the Thai people. My wife and I are dog lovers....we know many, many Thai people who are dog and animal lovers. There are of course, many humans that are cruel to animals, and it always seems to me that those guilty of cruelty to animals are diminished as human beings. Overall I think we are far too lenient with people who are of cruel to animals.

[Oziex1]

This sad story of inhuman neglect and callousness is yet another nail in the coffin of Thai-style Buddhism, which is increasingly failing to live up to the high expectations of its millions of devoted followers.

It is bad enough when Buddhists attempt to defend the exploits of cruel, rapacious and predatory abbots and monks, but the feeble excuses offered by Thai Visa posters for the callous neglect of this pathetic animal are enough to make one's blood boil.

Whatever its failings, the military coup has at least helped remove many of the bad apples from Thai politics. A similar top-down purge of the Kingdom's tainted temples is needed to prevent the national religion from turning into a national disgrace.

From the outside looking in, it is already a national disgrace. And the poor keep giving and the robed ones keep taking and giving nothing, not even to animals in need.

[Lupatria]

I condemn such mistreatment of animals, indeed the Buddhist authority should investigate.

On the other hand, I am as always saddened by the reactions of the most extreme animal lovers, shedding tears, crying and wanting to raze the place to the ground, whereas they don't react as much to the killing of innocent PEOPLE.

Review priorities?

indeed the Buddhist authority should investigate

Sorry our "religious staff" is currently busy with financial matters. At this time we only accept inquiries in writing or go to our web-hotline at holyscammers.com. Don't forget to fill out our donation form to jump the queue and enjoy your VIP status.

[realenglish1]

I don't get it They just passed a welfare animal act law last year and it is NOT being enforced here.

This is animal cruelty and should be punished according to the law Does not matter if it is monks or the kid down the street

Common COPS do your Job

[HeijoshinCool]

If someone "dumped" a bear on my front steps I would use some common sense and find out what the bear needed and who might be in a better position to provide that.

Pray tell, which organisations in Thailand are both in a better position to provide care and willing to take on dumped animals?

Perhaps you'd be good enough to post the names of these organisations and contact details here so that anyone facing the problem of a dumped bear in future can avail themselves thereof.

.

Until you have evidence five bears, or even just the one that died a miserable lonely death, were "dumped" at the wat, you should stop promulgating the fable they were.

Readers take note: No where does the report mention, nor allude to, that the bears were "dumped" at the wat.

[Thongkorn]

There use to be one of these bears in the snake farm Pattaya. It to was out of its mind pacing up and down in a small cage, Go to The Zoo at Sahmut Prakan and look at orangutans that are starving,cruelty to animals is all over Thailand.s

[KittenKong]

This country really does go from bad to worse. Quite sickening.

[Thongkorn]

There use to be one of these bears in the snake farm Pattaya. It to was out of its mind pacing up and down in a small cage, Go to The Zoo at Sahmut Prakan and look at orangutans that are starving,cruelty to animals is all over Thailand.s

Again not exclusive to Thailand - I am not defending the<deleted>that let this bear die a pitiful death but good ol China - the animals worst enemy trumps anything Thailand can offer - throwing live cows into tiger pens for the baying public - hell only a few weeks ago I saw a pitiful tiger pacing up and down a 3 metre bit of grass for hours on end in LONDON zoo !!

The caging of any animal is a disgrace - even worse when its a bird - what <deleted> keeps a flying animal in a cage !

I am stating a fact not having a go at Thailand , your welcome to go and look then come back and tell me i am wrong.

[Thongkorn]

There use to be one of these bears in the snake farm Pattaya. It to was out of its mind pacing up and down in a small cage, Go to The Zoo at Sahmut Prakan and look at orangutans that are starving,cruelty to animals is all over Thailand.s

Again not exclusive to Thailand - I am not defending the<deleted>that let this bear die a pitiful death but good ol China - the animals worst enemy trumps anything Thailand can offer - throwing live cows into tiger pens for the baying public - hell only a few weeks ago I saw a pitiful tiger pacing up and down a 3 metre bit of grass for hours on end in LONDON zoo !!

The caging of any animal is a disgrace - even worse when its a bird - what <deleted> keeps a flying animal in a cage !

I am stating a fact not having a go at Thailand , your welcome to go and look then come back and tell me i am wrong.

I am not saying you are wrong I am saying that people need to see the bigger picture and understand this is not exclusively a Thai problem. Animal cruelty is rampant to satisfy the curiosity of the animals that should have evolved to know better ! Humans !

This is a Thai visa forum about Thailand, that's why i am posting about Thailand, nothing to do with London stop trying to defend a wrong.

[Wildliferescue]

UPDATE from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand:

After almost a week providing medical treatment to the bears at the temple in Southern Thailand we now have been informed by the authorities that all remaining temple bears will be rescued within a few days.

WFFT has been sending complaint letters and letters of concern to the authorities for three years now, as the bears at this temple were kept in inadequate enclosures, too small and too dirty. Unfortunately the wildlife law was not enforced over the past years and the situation became critical over the last month for 4 of the 6 bears, resulting in the death of 2 of the bears kept at the temple, with one more bear in critical condition till yesterday. The WFFT has no power to remove wildlife without permit, so we could only provide medical assistance while we were trying to push for a rescue with the help of (social) media. It seems now that this approach is working, and that rescue might happen soon. We are of course saddened by the lack of response by authorities, resulting in the death of two innocent bears.

In Thailand some people who keep wildlife as (prestige) pets sometimes find out that the animals become too aggressive or wild once they become older. Instead of handing over these animals to rescue facilities they often choose to "donate" these wild animals to temples, as they are "sacred places" where animals should be safe. In most cases temples, the monks and staff helping at the temples are not properly equipped, nor have the knowledge how to care for these animals. Some temples turn these collections of wild animals into a mini zoo to attract worshippers for donations, but in general we find temples with only 1 to 3 wild animals.

Religious leaders are just like politicians and wealthy people often above the law, so legal charges for illegal wildlife possession or animal cruelty are usually not pressed by police or other authorities.

We will keep you updated on any news regarding the bears.

Edwin Wiek

WFFT Founder

[HeijoshinCool]

UPDATE from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand:

After almost a week providing medical treatment to the bears at the temple in Southern Thailand we now have been informed by the authorities that all remaining temple bears will be rescued within a few days.

WFFT has been sending complaint letters and letters of concern to the authorities for three years now, as the bears at this temple were kept in inadequate enclosures, too small and too dirty. Unfortunately the wildlife law was not enforced over the past years and the situation became critical over the last month for 4 of the 6 bears, resulting in the death of 2 of the bears kept at the temple, with one more bear in critical condition till yesterday. The WFFT has no power to remove wildlife without permit, so we could only provide medical assistance while we were trying to push for a rescue with the help of (social) media. It seems now that this approach is working, and that rescue might happen soon. We are of course saddened by the lack of response by authorities, resulting in the death of two innocent bears.

In Thailand some people who keep wildlife as (prestige) pets sometimes find out that the animals become too aggressive or wild once they become older. Instead of handing over these animals to rescue facilities they often choose to "donate" these wild animals to temples, as they are "sacred places" where animals should be safe. In most cases temples, the monks and staff helping at the temples are not properly equipped, nor have the knowledge how to care for these animals. Some temples turn these collections of wild animals into a mini zoo to attract worshippers for donations, but in general we find temples with only 1 to 3 wild animals.

Religious leaders are just like politicians and wealthy people often above the law, so legal charges for illegal wildlife possession or animal cruelty are usually not pressed by police or other authorities.

We will keep you updated on any news regarding the bears.

Edwin Wiek

WFFT Founder

Do you have a vet working with you?

[DM07]

No one is coming out of this incident with much credit. I would suggest that more facts need to be known before judgement is passed by commenters on the monks, temple, Buddhism and the Thai people. My wife and I are dog lovers....we know many, many Thai people who are dog and animal lovers. There are of course, many humans that are cruel to animals, and it always seems to me that those guilty of cruelty to animals are diminished as human beings. Overall I think we are far too lenient with people who are of cruel to animals.

Excuse me: did you look at the picture?

What more "facts" do you need?

No one is saying ALL monks are bad or ALL temples, let alone ALL Thai-people.

But go and have a stroll around Chatuchak Market and stumble into the pet- section, if you please.

Thailand has not exactly a squeaky clean "animal rights"- record.

And who ever did this to that bear is either the most stupid person (stupid as in : not able to figure the smallest things out by themselves) or simply an evil <deleted>.

[CharlieH]

I appreciate emotions can run high on this topic, however, can you please control your language.

8) You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages, vulgarities, obscenities or profanities.

11) You will not post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments directed towards Thailand, specific locations, Thai institutions such as the judicial or law enforcement system, Thai culture, Thai people or any other group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

[kannot]

UPDATE from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand:

After almost a week providing medical treatment to the bears at the temple in Southern Thailand we now have been informed by the authorities that all remaining temple bears will be rescued within a few days.

WFFT has been sending complaint letters and letters of concern to the authorities for three years now, as the bears at this temple were kept in inadequate enclosures, too small and too dirty. Unfortunately the wildlife law was not enforced over the past years and the situation became critical over the last month for 4 of the 6 bears, resulting in the death of 2 of the bears kept at the temple, with one more bear in critical condition till yesterday. The WFFT has no power to remove wildlife without permit, so we could only provide medical assistance while we were trying to push for a rescue with the help of (social) media. It seems now that this approach is working, and that rescue might happen soon. We are of course saddened by the lack of response by authorities, resulting in the death of two innocent bears.

In Thailand some people who keep wildlife as (prestige) pets sometimes find out that the animals become too aggressive or wild once they become older. Instead of handing over these animals to rescue facilities they often choose to "donate" these wild animals to temples, as they are "sacred places" where animals should be safe. In most cases temples, the monks and staff helping at the temples are not properly equipped, nor have the knowledge how to care for these animals. Some temples turn these collections of wild animals into a mini zoo to attract worshippers for donations, but in general we find temples with only 1 to 3 wild animals.

Religious leaders are just like politicians and wealthy people often above the law, so legal charges for illegal wildlife possession or animal cruelty are usually not pressed by police or other authorities.

We will keep you updated on any news regarding the bears.

Edwin Wiek

WFFT Founder

only 3 years complaining..........says it all

Its about time Thai people dumped the hierarchy system so you could stand up and call them idle lazy stupid incompetent etc, instead Thailand is run on 100% FEAR.................oooooooooh no "him big position" etc

Edited March 18, 2015 by kannot

[Jim walker]

Shocking and another sad sickening animal story from Thailand, I always donated generously to our local temple when visiting but now after reading this I will be thinking twice before dipping my hand into my wallet just the thought that monks would put my money to any bad use.

[sambum]

UPDATE from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand:

After almost a week providing medical treatment to the bears at the temple in Southern Thailand we now have been informed by the authorities that all remaining temple bears will be rescued within a few days.

WFFT has been sending complaint letters and letters of concern to the authorities for three years now, as the bears at this temple were kept in inadequate enclosures, too small and too dirty. Unfortunately the wildlife law was not enforced over the past years and the situation became critical over the last month for 4 of the 6 bears, resulting in the death of 2 of the bears kept at the temple, with one more bear in critical condition till yesterday. The WFFT has no power to remove wildlife without permit, so we could only provide medical assistance while we were trying to push for a rescue with the help of (social) media. It seems now that this approach is working, and that rescue might happen soon. We are of course saddened by the lack of response by authorities, resulting in the death of two innocent bears.

In Thailand some people who keep wildlife as (prestige) pets sometimes find out that the animals become too aggressive or wild once they become older. Instead of handing over these animals to rescue facilities they often choose to "donate" these wild animals to temples, as they are "sacred places" where animals should be safe. In most cases temples, the monks and staff helping at the temples are not properly equipped, nor have the knowledge how to care for these animals. Some temples turn these collections of wild animals into a mini zoo to attract worshippers for donations, but in general we find temples with only 1 to 3 wild animals.

Religious leaders are just like politicians and wealthy people often above the law, so legal charges for illegal wildlife possession or animal cruelty are usually not pressed by police or other authorities.

We will keep you updated on any news regarding the bears.

Edwin Wiek

WFFT Founder

Thank you for your explanation regarding the situation regarding those unfortunate animals. Whilst appreciating your efforts, and explanation regarding the monks' lack of knowledge or equipment to treat these animals, I still feel that to keep those bears in such inhumane conditions is not down to either of the above reasons - it is down to pure unadulterated cruelty! To keep them deprived of sunlight/daylight is inhuman, and "WFFT has been sending complaint letters and letters of concern to the authorities for three years now, as the bears at this temple were kept in inadequate enclosures, too small and too dirty" So have they literally swept the problem under the carpet by hiding the bears away in underground cells or sealed enclosures where they are "out of sight ,out of mind"? If so, then they are guilty of deliberate cruelty - not ignorance, and as such, should be held to account for their actions.

[sambum]

If someone "dumped" a bear on my front steps I would use some common sense and find out what the bear needed and who might be in a better position to provide that.

Pray tell, which organisations in Thailand are both in a better position to provide care and willing to take on dumped animals?

Perhaps you'd be good enough to post the names of these organisations and contact details here so that anyone facing the problem of a dumped bear in future can avail themselves thereof.

I have already posted regarding the situation on Samui, and I presume that there are similar organisations throughout Thailand. Apart from WFFT, (see above) just Google World Wildlife Fund, and I am sure there will be some answers there. Or, pray tell, are you just being obstructive or lazy?

Edited March 18, 2015 by sambum

[AyG]

If someone "dumped" a bear on my front steps I would use some common sense and find out what the bear needed and who might be in a better position to provide that.

Pray tell, which organisations in Thailand are both in a better position to provide care and willing to take on dumped animals?

Perhaps you'd be good enough to post the names of these organisations and contact details here so that anyone facing the problem of a dumped bear in future can avail themselves thereof.

I have already posted regarding the situation on Samui, and I presume that there are similar organisations throughout Thailand. Apart from WFFT, (see above) just Google World Wildlife Fund, and I am sure there will be some answers there. Or, pray tell, are you just being obstructive or lazy?

If you read the previous postings, WFFT sent protest letters for 3 years, but their protest letters achieved nothing.

Despite charging volunteers large sums of money to "help" they weren't able/willing to arrange for the bear's freedom. (One week volunteering at WFFT costs the volunteer 350 Euros - around 12,000 Baht. How many weeks' volunteering would it cost to buy the freedom of the bear concerned? That's even assuming the bear was being kept for profit, which seems most unlikely given the terrible conditions it was kept in and its dreadful state. I'd posit the monks would have been very happy for a caring animal charity to take the unwanted bear off their hands. There wasn't any.)

[CharlieH]

Flame removed.

[sambum]

If someone "dumped" a bear on my front steps I would use some common sense and find out what the bear needed and who might be in a better position to provide that.

Pray tell, which organisations in Thailand are both in a better position to provide care and willing to take on dumped animals?

Perhaps you'd be good enough to post the names of these organisations and contact details here so that anyone facing the problem of a dumped bear in future can avail themselves thereof.

I have already posted regarding the situation on Samui, and I presume that there are similar organisations throughout Thailand. Apart from WFFT, (see above) just Google World Wildlife Fund, and I am sure there will be some answers there. Or, pray tell, are you just being obstructive or lazy?

If you read the previous postings, WFFT sent protest letters for 3 years, but their protest letters achieved nothing.

Despite charging volunteers large sums of money to "help" they weren't able/willing to arrange for the bear's freedom. (One week volunteering at WFFT costs the volunteer 350 Euros - around 12,000 Baht. How many weeks' volunteering would it cost to buy the freedom of the bear concerned? That's even assuming the bear was being kept for profit, which seems most unlikely given the terrible conditions it was kept in and its dreadful state. I'd posit the monks would have been very happy for a caring animal charity to take the unwanted bear off their hands. There wasn't any.)

I have read the previous postings, and unfortunately I have to agree that the WFFT protest letters achieved very little response.

I was also unaware, and am astounded that volunteers are being charged large sums of money to help, and I am not in a position to dispute your figures. I also concur that it seems very unlikely that the bear concerned was being held for profit, as it is highly unlikely that anyone would want to see (or pay to see a bear) in such an awful condition.

I therefore apologise for my cynicism in my previous post now that I understand the problems a little better.

The point remains however that why was this situation allowed to happen? If unwanted/sick animals are left or handed in to monks at a temple, does that mean that they can literally starve the creatures to death because it is against their religion to take a life? Surely by denying those creatures food and water (and sunlight) that is EXACTLY what they are doing?

In this particular instance, it appears that there may be a "happy" end result due to the efforts of the WFFT, and social media pressure, but it is very distressing to think that this is not just an isolated incident, and may be the "thin end of the wedge" as far as cruelty to animals in temples is concerned.

A bit off topic, but I am not a religious person by nature, because it is a known fact that many lives have been lost over the years in the name of religion, and are still being lost today. I thought that Buddhism was different in their "live and let live" philosophy, but I have now become cynical about that doctrine, and also the red tape and bureaucracy that abounds in all countries (not just Thailand) regarding the mistreatment and cruelty to animals.

[Crazy chef 1]

Hope Karma exists...

[natway09]

Sorry AyG, If the monks cannot give it fresh water, fruit & nuts & a bit of exercise in the sun everyday, then they are more

animals than the poor bear.

And do not start arguing about cost. They have PLENTY or do you not read?

[Whale]

I am very surprised at some posters using this to make comments against WFFT.

At least they did something - what did you do? You did nothing, like me, except write on a forum.

[AyG]

Sorry AyG, If the monks cannot give it fresh water, fruit & nuts & a bit of exercise in the sun everyday, then they are more

animals than the poor bear.

And do not start arguing about cost. They have PLENTY or do you not read?

I don't know about this particular temple, but most temples in Thailand are very poor. The monks are dependent upon donations. Just look at the run down condition of so many temples. In many temples long-term monks suffer from scurvy because of the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. I suspect (but am not certain) that they are also not permitted to eat nuts, so nuts won't be donated. So where do they get the fruit and nuts to feed a bear? Don't judge all temples by the few that hit the headlines because of their fabulous wealth.

Incidentally, their natural diet isn't one of fruits and nuts. They primarily eat bees, bee larvae, honeycomb, termites, ants and beetle larvae. I don't believe they eat nuts. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_bear I don't recall many devotees offering monks bee larvae.

[DM07]

Sorry AyG, If the monks cannot give it fresh water, fruit & nuts & a bit of exercise in the sun everyday, then they are more

animals than the poor bear.

And do not start arguing about cost. They have PLENTY or do you not read?

I don't know about this particular temple, but most temples in Thailand are very poor. The monks are dependent upon donations. Just look at the run down condition of so many temples. In many temples long-term monks suffer from scurvy because of the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. I suspect (but am not certain) that they are also not permitted to eat nuts, so nuts won't be donated. So where do they get the fruit and nuts to feed a bear? Don't judge all temples by the few that hit the headlines because of their fabulous wealth.

Incidentally, their natural diet isn't one of fruits and nuts. They primarily eat bees, bee larvae, honeycomb, termites, ants and beetle larvae. I don't believe they eat nuts. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_bear I don't recall many devotees offering monks bee larvae.

So let me get this straight- they HAD that bear, but they were so <deleted>' poor and they had no <deleted> clue how to feed it and what to do with it...but still, they HAD it!

And because of all that, I need to feel more empathy with the poor and overworked monks than I should have with the bear, they basically tortured to death!

Boooo- <deleted> hooooo!

[AyG]

Sorry AyG, If the monks cannot give it fresh water, fruit & nuts & a bit of exercise in the sun everyday, then they are more

animals than the poor bear.

And do not start arguing about cost. They have PLENTY or do you not read?

I don't know about this particular temple, but most temples in Thailand are very poor. The monks are dependent upon donations. Just look at the run down condition of so many temples. In many temples long-term monks suffer from scurvy because of the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. I suspect (but am not certain) that they are also not permitted to eat nuts, so nuts won't be donated. So where do they get the fruit and nuts to feed a bear? Don't judge all temples by the few that hit the headlines because of their fabulous wealth.

Incidentally, their natural diet isn't one of fruits and nuts. They primarily eat bees, bee larvae, honeycomb, termites, ants and beetle larvae. I don't believe they eat nuts. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_bear I don't recall many devotees offering monks bee larvae.

So let me get this straight- they HAD that bear, but they were so f%$#@*&' poor and they had no f@#$%&* clue how to feed it and what to do with it...but still, they HAD it!

And because of all that, I need to feel more empathy with the poor and overworked monks than I should have with the bear, they basically tortured to death!

Boooo- f@#$%&*- hooooo!

They in all probability had the bear dumped on them. It wasn't their choice.

The food and money the temple receives are donations, to be used for religious purposes. If people wanted to donate to an animal charity they would do so. But no, they donated to a temple. The monks would be betraying the trust of the people who donated if they were to spend that money running a bear sanctuary.

It's an horrible situation, but it's not the monks that are to blame. It's the people who dump animals at temples are the problem, and it's the failure of Thai society to provide animal rescue services that's the problem. Far better to direct your anger at the animal dumpers and society's failure to provide adequate animal welfare than at the monks.

And don't over-hype the situation which is emotional enough. The bear wasn't "tortured to death". It was treated very poorly and consequently died. There were no thumbscrews or branding irons: the bear died from neglect, not torture.

[CharlieH]

I think there are only so many times this roundabout can go around.

CLOSED.