The Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery in Kanchanaburi, more commonly known as the Tiger Temple is a popular tourist attraction in Thailand. The ethos of the tiger temple is that tourism pays for the care of several tigers kept at the facility. Some of the tigers are taken daily to ‘Tiger Canyon’ where tourists pay to pet and have their photos taken with the tigers. Tourist numbers are reported to average between 100 and 300 visitors per day. The tigers are kept in the canyon area for about three hours a day, where there is virtually no shade (except for what is provided to tourists) and temperatures can rise well above 40°C in the sun.
We’ve put this page together to voice our concerns over the Tiger Temple, show how we found out about the tiger temple and what we’ve done about it, and to educate travellers of the animal welfare issues at the site.