Tigers may be gone, but many creatures dwell at Thai temples

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Tigers may be gone, but many creatures dwell at Thai temples

BANGKOK (AP) — The scandal surrounding Thailand's Tiger Temple, where wildlife officers seized 137 big cats this past week, has cast religious sanctuaries for animals in a bad light.

Many conservationists and animal rights activists have believed the temple's self-appointed mission to shelter tigers is misguided at best and that the tigers were mistreated to ensure their docility. Tiger parts found during the raid buoyed strong suspicions that the temple, run as an admission-charging zoo, engaged in unethical breeding and illegal trafficking of the endangered animals.

The shady findings at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua in western Thailand aside, Buddhism and animals have an intrinsic link, loosely derived from Buddhist precepts promoting compassion for all living beings. While tigers are not typical, many temples in Thailand host smaller menageries.

— DOGS AND CATS: Dogs may outnumber monks at many temples. Unwanted pets and rescued strays almost invariably end up at the local temple, where the moral code of the monks ensures dogs and cats won't be put down at the pound. The luckier ones will be adopted by a kind-hearted abbot or novice monks, boys who have the energy and enthusiasm to chase the animals. But most will just survive rather than thrive, especially since their main diet is leftover rice. The stereotype of a temple dog as a skinny, sore-ridden mutt is so ingrained that the Thai phrase for them — 'ma wat' — is slang for a disreputably down-and-out poor person.

Inevitably a crowd of dogs or cats creates crowds of puppies and kittens, straining the temple's resources and risking the animals' health and welfare. Sterilization programs attempt to deal with the problem, but Lanna Dog Welfare in northern Thailand takes a holistic approach. The group is training monks in all aspects of hands-on basic canine health care to help the 10 to 50 dogs living at each of the more than 1,600 temples around the city of Chiang Mai.

— BIRDS, FISH AND TURTLES: Less cuddly animals like birds, fish and turtles lead the lives of second-class citizens. They are found at temples as a result of a Buddhist custom of making merit by freeing animals from captivity. In many cases, the animals serve that purpose over and over, going through cycles of capture and release. The practice, common through much of Asia, is particularly widespread in China, where it is known as fang sheng.

Frail birds, crammed into tiny cages until vendors at the temples sell them to the merit-seekers, either cannot fly out of the reach of their sellers and are recaptured or they reach the wild where they are not fit enough to survive. Fish and turtles are released into temple ponds too crowded to sustain much aquatic life.

The environmental consequences may also be dire; the massive demand endangers the populations of some species, and the disruption of habitats and migratory patterns can spread animal-borne diseases or introduce invasive species.

— TIGERS AND OTHER EXOTIC ANIMALS: Larger animals end up at temples in the same manner as dogs and cats — as a refuge for the unwanted or homeless. For all its notoriety, the Tiger Temple's collection is said to have begun that way, when eight cubs rescued from poachers were brought there for care.

Bears and monkeys are among the wilder animals that might live at temples. But temples are ill-prepared to handle the special needs of such animals, which often are held in appalling conditions. In one famous case, an elephant endured about 20 years chained to a tree, only be killed with a spray of 100 bullets when he tried to escape.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-04

[rkidlad]

Many 'creatures' dwell? Are some of the monks still there?

[DrTuner]

The local "buddhism" is animism with a spoonful of hinduism and buddhism thrown in as imported flavoring.

[The stuttering parrot]

Not quite sure where this article is heading.

Is it defending temples or is it criticising temples?

Doesn't matter which way you look at it animal cruelty and exploitation are exactly that and if you are prepared to accept any creature at a temple then you have a duty of care to that creature.

If you can't handle a particular species then you should contact the relative authorities and have it removed to a place where it can be properly cared for.

[clockman]

The local "buddhism" is animism with a spoonful of hinduism and buddhism thrown in as imported flavoring.

That sums it up perfectly. And the mantra, is greed.

[Winniedapu]

The local "buddhism" is animism with a spoonful of hinduism and buddhism thrown in as imported flavoring.

It's no different in essence to any primitive folksy shamanistic religion.

it is quite far away from real buddhism.

W

[Thechook]

When are they going to round up the monks and put them in cages

[harada]

My wife has been known to use the phrase 'Not the real monk' on a few occasions, but it looks to me that they are starting to outnumber the real ones.

[ratcatcher]

When are they going to round up the monks and put them in cages

Some of the more prominent of these saffron clothed creatures.

[Winniedapu]

<deleted>

Edited June 5, 2016 by Winniedapu

[Winniedapu]

When are they going to round up the monks and put them in cages

About the same time they put the landed barons in the stocks. Or a noose around treasonous necks.

W

[Fookhaht]

A temple near my Thai friend's house in Udon Thani province acquired a female and male Komodo Dragon about five years ago. What could possibly go wrong? It did.

Both escaped within a year and mated (yeah, surprise). Now the community is grappling with an "infestation" of dangerous Komodo Dragons threatening their livestock (mostly chicken and ducks) and small children. The community is certainly on edge. Quotations from Jurassic Park movies come to mind--warnings from the cautionary scientist (e.g. "Nature will take its course...")

Thanks, farsighted monks.

[dageurreotype]

There is an article in GuardianUK stating the horrific Tiger Temple should be on the World's conscience. It's still being touted on TripAdvisor for starters and how many visitors of any country actively registered their disgust at what was obvious to anyone with half a brain in that the tigers were drugged to keep them docile. Walk into a tiger cage at your local zoo, I dare you. And thus the points raised in the OP should be on the conscience of the many Thais and farang who abrogate their responsibilities and dump their unwanted pets at these places. And it surely cannot be beyond the wit of the dimmest to see that birds locked in overcrowded cages are neither happy nor healthy. Perhaps a change of attitude and an increase in empathy towards one fellow creatures is needed, all of which starts with education and some conscience-ness raising.

[freedom4life]

"...but many creatures dwell at Thai temples"

..yes there are, including predators such as the Thai monks.

[tuanku]

A temple near my Thai friend's house in Udon Thani province acquired a female and male Komodo Dragon about five years ago. What could possibly go wrong? It did.

Both escaped within a year and mated (yeah, surprise). Now the community is grappling with an "infestation" of dangerous Komodo Dragons threatening their livestock (mostly chicken and ducks) and small children. The community is certainly on edge. Quotations from Jurassic Park movies come to mind--warnings from the cautionary scientist (e.g. "Nature will take its course...")

Thanks, farsighted monks.

By Komodo Dragon which is a monitor lizard, I assume you mean water monitor which is the third largest lizard and is common in Thailand..

Komodo Dragon

Water monitor

Komodo dragons are fiercely protected and found only on a couple of islands in Indonesia. They are not available for sale or for export. They are twice the size of water monitors and have venomous saliva. If they were breeding in Thailand I think we would hear about it.

[Fookhaht]

A temple near my Thai friend's house in Udon Thani province acquired a female and male Komodo Dragon about five years ago. What could possibly go wrong? It did.

Both escaped within a year and mated (yeah, surprise). Now the community is grappling with an "infestation" of dangerous Komodo Dragons threatening their livestock (mostly chicken and ducks) and small children. The community is certainly on edge. Quotations from Jurassic Park movies come to mind--warnings from the cautionary scientist (e.g. "Nature will take its course...")

Thanks, farsighted monks.

By Komodo Dragon which is a monitor lizard, I assume you mean water monitor which is the third largest lizard and is common in Thailand..

Komodo Dragon

Water monitor

Komodo dragons are fiercely protected and found only on a couple of islands in Indonesia. They are not available for sale or for export. They are twice the size of water monitors and have venomous saliva. If they were breeding in Thailand I think we would hear about it.

Your assumptions are incorrect. Just like the untold thousands of Thais and government officials who continued to believe that the Tiger Temple was an innocent tourist attraction. Just like all the naysayers on TV who dismissed my first breaking news here about invasive immigration forms.

I know the difference between the two species. I've been there and seen/talked to the harassed community. Twice. The temple keeps trying to keep a lid on it. (Sound familiar?) When a child gets killed, remember where you read it first.

Meanwhile, you go ahead and believe what's comfortable.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Fookhaht

[Fookhaht]

If they were breeding in Thailand I think we would hear about it.

In your all-wise pronouncement, try substituting "breeding" with...

"...selling endangered species body parts on the black market..."

"...mistreating the Royhingyas...."

"....threatening whistleblowers among the RTP..."

"...assassinating a human rights lawyer..."

"...regularly locking the fire escape exits for dozens of hill tribe school girls..."

The list of skeletons in the closet is much longer than this, and you know it. And no, you won't hear about it until some unforeseen event blows the lid off.

Hate to break the news to you, but...

Edited June 5, 2016 by Fookhaht

[tuanku]

If they were breeding in Thailand I think we would hear about it.

In your all-wise pronouncement, try substituting "breeding" with...

"...selling endangered species body parts on the black market..."

"...mistreating the Royhingyas...."

"....threatening whistleblowers among the RTP..."

"...assassinating a human rights lawyer..."

"...regularly locking the fire escape exits for dozens of hill tribe school girls..."

The list of skeletons in the closet is much longer than this, and you know it. And no, you won't hear about it until some unforeseen event blows the lid off.

Hate to break the news to you, but...

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1465135366.374700.jpg

well you certainly seem to be a reasonable person who doesn't overdramatise, so i guess its true. I will await the first child death as you suggest. Watch out for those things they have poisoned saliva, but I guess you would know that.

[poohy]

Rapists murderers thieves, then there's the poor animals

[sugarcane24]

Pythons may be the answer to reducing the temple dog populations. The python in this newspaper clipping apparently devoured around 20 dogs before it was caught and donated or sold to a zoo.

[Mook23]

The local "buddhism" is animism with a spoonful of hinduism and buddhism thrown in as imported flavoring.

The local "buddhism" is CAPITALISM with a spoonful of animism, a pinch of hinduism and nestlé-buddhism thrown in as imported flavoring.