Tiger Temple volunteers deny knowing of abuses

[webfact]

Tiger Temple volunteers deny knowing of abuses
By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter


Seated from left, Edwin Wiek, Chatraporn Thamthong and Tanya Erzinlioglu discuss the now-shuttered Tiger Temple on Wednesday night at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Former volunteers of the Tiger Temple said they were surprised when more than 1,000 tiger-skin amulets and other evidence of trafficking and worse were discovered recently at the complex.

Two former volunteers discussed their passion for the animals’ welfare, in hindsight two weeks after wildlife officials raided and shut the place down, at a panel discussion Wednesday night at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand alongside one of the commercial temple’s principal detractors, wildlife activist Edwin Wiek.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bangkok/2016/06/15/tiger-temple-volunteers-deny-knowing-tiger-temples-abuses/


-- Khaosod English 2016-06-16

[dcnx]

Well, there you go. Must not have happened.

[Somtamnication]

See no evil hear no evil, etc etc etc.

[ezzra]

The only way they couldn't know what was going on in that temple is if those volunteers were all blind, deaf

and stoned out of their minds, otherwise, they just turned a blind eye to the plight of the animals, or they were

on in it a part and parcel of the comrades of cruelty.....

[colinneil]

Money comes before everything for some people.

So the welfare of animals is not as important as making money.

[tracker1]

Only one word reply in English to this "BULLSHIT"

[NongKhaiKid]

On the word of command take one GIANT pace to the rear.

[Bluespunk]

Someone's pants are on fire.

[The stuttering parrot]

This Tanya woman spent 6 years working there and there were many more who done everything to deny that the Tigers were drugged sedated or whatever.

Don't try and tell the people you had no idea or were shocked when the horror story hit the headlines.

We are not that stupid but then again your qualification in the big cat world is a course in animal animation so that makes you an expert and her Facebook page not one peep since June 2.

How does one get a work permit for 6 years at the temple?

Arrest all these so called volunteers confiscate their passports and get some answers.

[lostmebike]

Someone's pants are on fire.

.. and more than likely talking shat!

[klauskunkel]

How could they know, if even the abbot didn't know:

(from khaosod)

The temple’s leader, who has run the temple since its inception in 1994, had no knowledge of any of that, the lawyer said.

Adisorn Noochdamrong, deputy chief of the national parks department: “[We] found tiger pelts right in the [abbot’s] room. How can he deny that?”

[Caveat Emptor]

If foreigners confirmed the abuse they'd be called all sorts of uncomplimentary things but since they're supporting the temple authorities etc they will be given the status of ' complete witnesses of truth '.

[gandalf12]

Obviously with so little knowledge of events by the people working there there is only one possibility and that is the animals did the atrocities to other animals and ten played dumb. That would explain why no one knew of such things happening.

I hope I have taken the mystery out this subject now and we can all get a good nights sleep from now on

[cumgranosalum]

The temple fights back...or rather lurches into denial mode.....

The replies, lies and distortions are pouring out now - the Temple workers website , various tour companies and let's not forget Gary Agnew are all jumping on the "i had no idea" bandwagon.......they must have spent a little time seeing what they could glean from the defences at the Nuremberg trials..."I was only acting under orders".

Groomed by their "employers" like those sucked into a cult they really need professional help to come to terms with the devastating acts they were part of...being left alone to fumble around for excuses is not enough.

Reading some of the "statements" made by those involved with the temple you'd think these people were so busy "taking care" of the tigers that they didn't notice what was happening only yards away.

However the fact remains that regardless of the "discoveries" of the last few days and the incompetence of the removal operations, the temple has been OPENLY CRITICISED for nearly 20 years. The criticism was based on CLEAR EVIDENCE that the entire establishment was being run contrary to laws, science of animal welfare and their own claims to be conservationists. They had an unregulated breeding program that even without the deaths was clearly out of control suspected of inbreeding and hybridism, the aims of the temple were at odds with ALL known conservation theories and aims and they had already been suspected of illegal buying/selling of animals and being in possession of endangered species....none of this is new - even the origins of the first tigers seemed to be an apocryphal story.

Despite all this these people either worked or volunteered there - there is clear evidence including photos and videos that they are engaging in activities that are contrary to modern animal husbandry and harmful to conservation - the monks openly admitted taking tiger cubs away from their parents too early so they could "get used to human contact" - apart from being highly undesirable aim it is a technique used by tiger farms to increase the number of times a tigress will be able to get pregnant.

So it is no good trying to deny that anyone knew what was going on they already were taking part in activities that were detrimental to both animal welfare and conservation and in breach of both national and international laws - this has never been in doubt, so engaging in and supporting the place in any way is in itself reprehensible.

Edited June 16, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[SOTIRIOS]

....how long will this charade drag on....in lieu of justice....

[mesterm]

Come on guys let them go, they were surprised.

[cumgranosalum]

....how long will this charade drag on....in lieu of justice....

Start with a cliché - this is Thailand.

The temple has been criticised from its inception, locals wondered where the monks came from, there was controversy about how they got their animals and about how they were allowed to continue for 20 years.

To bring about the closure of the temple there are some huge obstacles to overcome.....and in the end one has to ask what has been the motivation in the last year - was it purely animal welfare, was it rule of law, international pressure (CITES) or even a personal vendetta...or a mix of all these things ......we probably will never know.

In the end prosecution of anyone in saffron is fraught with difficulties.

...But also the law in Thailand still seems to show relics of Sakdina - the old cast system where the evidence of the wealthier higher castes was automatically given more credence than that of a lower caste. in Thailand the wealthy and well connected seem to experience a totally different treatment within the legal system to that extended to the "bootless and unhorsed".

It is surely beyond doubt that the abbot has direct connections to the highest echelons of Thai society, so let's not get carried away by the idea of a quick clean trial....it will soon become obfuscated by the need to preserve the Thai hierarchical way of life and the return of "harmony" - to both the Changwat and the nation.

Edited June 16, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[KarenBravo]

The truth has never had much value in this country...

[Kiwisailor]

We met a Kiwi girl working there in the very early days - minimal entry fee and they also asked for voluntary donations for food. She was very happy and had total trust in the way things were being run. Returned a couple of years later when the "business" was ramping up and her view had changed radically, then saw it as animal exploitation. Was trying to get away but was hampered by the fact that her partner was a paperless Burmese who was not allowed to leave the district. Hope that it all turned out well for them and that they got away.

[luckyman]

What a load of crap again.

Again, I am happy the temple is shut down but I am equally sad it had to be the Army to do it.

Just as with the chaos that is still going on at Wat Dammakai, if the Sangha Council had done it's job this would have or could have been dealt with properly and according to Thai law more than a decade ago.

Edited June 16, 2016 by luckyman

[Redline]

Kink of surprised they didn't charge the volunteers. But, they don't know much about amulets probably.

[nausea]

Well they would, wouldn't they.

[LannaGuy]

"please be fair to us we thought they were just big pussy cats"

Edited June 17, 2016 by LannaGuy

[Narratio]

Obviously with so little knowledge of events by the people working there there is only one possibility and that is the animals did the atrocities to other animals and ten played dumb. That would explain why no one knew of such things happening.

I hope I have taken the mystery out this subject now and we can all get a good nights sleep from now on

And Gandalf gets to the nub of the matter.

See, it was all a clever plan on the part of a bunch of other animals, all herbivores your honor, to enact a fiendish revenge on these carnivores! All set up and run by some motivated goats, a few highly placed pigs and a certain cow whose herd is in a position of power within the animal community...

And they'd have got away with it too, if not for those pesky kids.

[cumgranosalum]

By the end of the year the public and press will seriously doubt that any crimes were committed at the temple and the Abbot will have a new zoo on the way........unless there is international pressure - especially in the form of CITES to actually do something.

it is only a matter of time that a scandal breaks about the conditions the tiger are being kept in by the authorities and gradually the crimes at the temple will be overshadowed.

I know it's depressing but I can see it starting already with the likes of Gary Agnew and other volunteers