Tiger Temple abbot to tell his side of story on Thursday

The abbot of the Tiger Temple is set to break his silence on Thursday as wildlife authorities now say they have found a contract that may link the temple to traffickers.

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Tiger Temple abbot to tell his story

Piyarach Chongcharoen

The abbot of the Tiger Temple will hold a briefing on Thursday as 2,000 wild animals remain at his temple in Kanchanaburi province after all 137 tigers were relocated, according to the temple's legal team.

The lawyers of Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno in Sai Yok district of Kanchanaburi told reporters on Monday that the 61-year-old abbot Phra Wisutthi Sarathera, also known as Luang Ta Chan, would return to the temple for a news conference on Thursday to tell his side of the story.

The whereabouts of the abbot has been unknown since the eve of the official raid on his 22-year-old temple now suspected of illegal trade in wildlife and forest encroachment. Earlier, it was reported that he was ill after returning from Indonesia.

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation earlier filed complaints against the abbot for abusing tigers by putting them on display and holding shows to entertain tourists.

The lonely lion at the Tiger Temple.

About 2,000 animals remain at the temple, which is now suffering food shortages. They include boars, horses, various kinds of deer, cattle, and a male lion which appeared depressed and did not eat. The management of the temple has yet to present documents to prove legal ownership of the animals.

The deer at the Tiger Temple.

Once a tourist attraction of Kanchanaburi, the Tiger Temple became quiet and more like a Buddhist temple with 15 monks and a novice on Monday.

Local labour officials went to the temple in the morning to gather the profiles of 72 employees of Tiger Temple Co who lost their jobs as the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation took the tigers. The company was set up by the temple so it could hire employees to take care of the big cats.

One thing the abbot will have to explain to authorities is a copy of a suspicious contract found at the temple. Here are the details from our Post reporters

Contract may point to illicit link in Laos

Post Reporters

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has found a copy of a document that might link the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi to wildlife trafficking as police prepare to expand a probe against the temple for allegedly supplying tigers to the black market.

Speaking after handing over the details of the DNP's discoveries at the temple to police, department deputy chief Adisorn Nuchdamrong said authorities have seized the photocopy of a contract involving an exchange of breeding tigers during last week's relocation of the big cats.

The agreement was signed by the abbot of Wat Pa Luang Ta Maha Bua and people in Laos, Mr Adisorn said without giving further details.

He said the contract indicates the temple may have been involved in the illegal trade of wildlife. The DNP is also waiting for the results of DNA tests on live tigers and dead cubs found at the temple to confirm its suspicions about the temple serving as a transition point for tiger trafficking, he noted.

He said the details submitted to police should help authorities expand the investigation. The department has filed eight complaints with local police against the temple and the abbot.

According to Mr Adisorn, the department wants police to follow up on a case of missing tigers and determine if there are connections with the new case. Three tigers at the temple went missing in December 2014 and authorities' efforts to find them have made no progress.

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