How we heard about the tiger temple
The poor animal welfare standards at the Tiger Temple were first brought to our attention when a concerned traveller sent us their report from their visit to the popular tourist attraction. Her holiday wasn't booked via responsibletravel.com but she contacted us as she was keen to tell us of her experience and raise awareness of the issue.
A quick search on the internet found that many tourists enjoyed their visits to the tiger temple but other websites listed ways that the animal care at the Tiger Temple was below standard. A youtube search found many videos of children sitting on tigers and people petting these unpredictable wild animals.
We then approached several of our tour operators in Asia to ask their opinion on the Tiger Temple, some of which expressed their concerns as to where the tigers would go if the facility did not exist.
Care for the Wild International (CWI) has identified a suitable facility in Thailand that the tigers could be moved to. CWI has offered its assistance in fundraising and supporting the removal of the tigers from the Tiger Temple to a new location on the basis that it meets the following requirements: that the enclosures are large and with pools, it has a 'no-breeding' policy, and that it prohibits physical contact between animals and the public.