Home Page Thailand-UK Community Thailand-UK Forums Travel / Thailand Accommodation / Tourism Somewhere to avoid - Tiger Temple near Kanchanaburi
Thailand-UK Community Thailand-UK Forums Travel / Thailand Accommodation / Tourism Somewhere to avoid - Tiger Temple near KanchanaburiPage 1 2
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Old Hand |
It's not somewhere I've been and after reading the following I'll make sure that I never do !
Tiger Temple Negative Report Link sourced from 2bangkok.com Rich |
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Won't Shut Up |
Thank you for a great link which tells what can only be the truth about that awful place.
I'll get this posted up on my blog and on the E-Sangha site too.  Marcus |
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Active Member |
Why am i not supprised
  Thanks for informing us Scott |
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Forum Regular |
Well, I certainly wouldn't like to attempt to hit a fully grown tiger with a garden hoe or rub tiger balm into its face and expect it to be cowered by my actions.
Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua has always been controversial with many arguments on both sides. My advice would be to visit yourself and make your own mind up.......... are they drugged? is the island just accommodation with a moat as this article suggests? Is Phra Acharn Phoosit just out to make money with no regard for the tigers he professes to love? To balance things I think that a link to Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua official website could be be included here too so here it is. Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua |
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Forum Regular |
guava, great website again, with the new photos what camera did you use, the colours are amazing
Andy c, Pattaya Pattaya, sexy man, mak mak |
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Forum Regular |
Hi Andy
Thank you for nice comment I used my Nikon D50 with 18-200 VR lens, great travel combo in my opinion. For first time I shot some pics in RAW format now that prices of memory cards have fallen so low and I am very happy with results. |
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Forum Addict |
With all the publicity and media coverage this temple has received, I am sure that if things were as bad as this lady says it would have come to light before now.
In a documentary on the place on TV last year the tigers were shown wandering freely, not chained up and not being forced into the canyon. My gut feeling is that her report is motivated not by the way she perceived the animals being treated, but by her dismay that the foreigners did not kowtow to this arrogant American. Most Thais do have a completely different perspective on animal welfare than that of most Westerners. There are many places in Thailand where animal abuse does occur regularly. I don't personally feel this temple is one of them. BTW, when I followed the link to her report, my McAffee security flashed a red warning! Be aware. |
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Member |
I visited the Tiger Temple last year and saw no signs of abuse, also the description of the canyon in this report seems somewhat unfare. When we visited it was well shaded from the sun and large fans and water vapourisors were continually keeping the tigers cool.
The only negative aspect that sticks in my mind were the aloof and arrogant western volunteers who walked around the place like royalty....I also sensed some of the female (western) volunteers were non too impressed by the sight of Western guys with their Thai partners. |
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Won't Shut Up |
I've never been there but have spent most of today giving this one some thought.
My take on things - from my blog:
Marcus |
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Forum Addict |
What are your feelings on horse riding? The same? How about pets? Are they? Don't they breed from domesticated stock, as we do with horses? (Edit:- Apparently not as breeding elephants in captivity is difficult. See here.)Agree on the performing tricks and being used for begging in Bangkok bit, though. You don't have to 'make do', it's your choice not to eat meat. Ever been to an egg farm? Perhaps you should stick to plain rice in future. I am also surprised that your canteen, or at least no nearby stall, doesn't sell vegetable dishes. Every market? Not any of the ones around Bangsu. Or if they are, it's well hidden. Isn't the word 'allegedly' missing from this? There is no proof, only one woman's word. Sorry, Marcus, I tend to agree with much of what you post, and have a high respect for you. However, I feel you are guilty here of judging the Thais by your own, Western, standards. You seem to be saying that your Western views are more 'right' than those of the Thai people. Cultural imperialism? |
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Forum Regular |
I forgot to state this in my first post - but I have also visited this temple and I have to say that I am in agreement with Dan 100%.
Also please note that the 300 baht charge does include as many photographs as you wish to have taken. You may enter the inner cordon, have one of the staff take photographs for you, exit to behind the cordon to check your shots. This may be repeated as many times as you wish until you have shots that you are happy with. The only additional charge is for having a special photograph taken with a tiger resting its head on your lap or another similar pose which may be suggested by the Abbot. |
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Veteran |
I have been to there twice now once in 2003 and again in 2005 I never saw any mistreatment to any of the animals,(not saying there wasn't any,) yes some were in cages, but I would not like the more nasty ones just strolling around,(mind you it might save on the food bill)as for the blog it says on the stats that this person is 250 years old? as for the monks taking money, they DONT it was one of the staff that took three hundred bht, as we all know monks are not allowed to touch money. I also watched the documentary last year and still have on dvd if some one can tell me how to upload it to my pc the download onto here I will do.
Andy nice web site, yours to guava. David & Aree. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain -- and most fools do. |
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มาริโอ Veteran  |
Next time you want to sit next to a 'tamed' tiger to get you photo taken try "bearing this" in mind. It's just a matter of time before the Kanchanaburi tiger attraction see's something like this in my opinion. They are called wild animals for a reason.
 ( I wonder if your holiday insurance would pay your hospital bill for this kind of thing? Check the small print on 'putting yourself' in danger ).This one makes you 'think' too! |
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Forum Regular |
I agree that it is only a matter of time before there is an incident, they are still wild animals after all. Visitors really should understand that there is a possibility, however tame they may appear, that they could attack if they wished. You only have to look at what happened to Roy of Segfried and Roy in Las Vegas.
And you do have to sign a waiver form before you are allowed entrance stating that you understand the risks and will not hold the temple accountable in the event of an incident. So I would think you are correct that insurance would not cover you. PS Thanks David for visiting my website
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Won't Shut Up |
You're right. I'm also very uneasy about horse riding and having pets. But at least horses, and certainly pets, are kept in much much better condiotions than these poor tigers - and don't get urine squirted into their eyes as these tigers do. Yes, it's my choice not to eat bits of flesh because I find the practice disgusting - in the same way as it's my choice not to drink poison or stick needles in my eyes. And, yes, I don't like eating eggs either and there have been mornings when I've done exactly what you've suggested and gone for just plain rice!
Oh come on - this is Thailand! I've had mornings when the Thai staff tell me 'this is vegetarian' - as they count chicken as a vegetable! Okay, maybe not Every market! "It seems" covers the same function.
Likewise Nick.
No, it's not a 'western' standard I'm holding up - it's a standard of compassion and non-cruelty that ought to extend to every living creature on this planet. And, yes, I do believe that not eating meat is more 'right' than eating meat. I believe that not breeding tigers for entertainment is more right than breeding them and then keeping them in tiny cages and squirting urine into their eyes to calm them down as they are used for tourist photos. 'Western'? Maybe. And yet the principle of vegetarianism is also there in Buddhism - although mostly ignored by most Asian Buddhists. To suggest that we don't eat sentient beings or beat them into passivity for the entertainment of tourists is hardly 'cultural imperialism' - it's compassion. Marcus |
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Won't Shut Up |
Great links Casey! Epecially the second one!  Marcus |
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Forum Addict |
Allegedly, Marcus. I agree that some, maybe most, of the animals that are kept to entertain tourists in many countries are mistreated; but all the reputable reports about Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua show this women's comments to be, at best, wildly exaggerated. Or are you saying that only she discovered the truth and everyone else has been hoodwinked? As for elephants, they have been used as beasts of burden in South and South East Asia for almost as long as horses have elsewhere. Of course in the past there was cruelty, especially when used in battle (like horses elsewhere), but if you do a little bit of research you will find that these days the majority are treated with the same love and respect as the average horse is in the west. Maybe I'm lucky, but most of the stalls selling cooked food around Bangsu, and in Ratchaburi, offer vegetable side dishes. Vegetarianism (or veganism) is a personal choice. I eat meat because I like it. Calling it eating sentient beings doesn't put me off. I have killed, skinned, dressed and then cooked and eaten animals in the past. Does that make me some sort of monster in your eyes? BTW, how do you define sentient? Being aware of one's self and surroundings? If so, then surely a plant turning toward the sun is sentient? |
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Only Me |
Not so a google reveals that many others including Lonely plant have reported suspicions. As to vegetarian food in Thailand, one of my friends will not eat any Thai food because of the use of fish sauce, I think its completely moronic but its his choice and like Marcus he deserves respect for his belief. ash We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.- Konrad Adenauer |
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Won't Shut Up |
Ash disagreeing with Nick makes me slightly nervous. Lets keep it friendly chaps |
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Veteran |
This is a short piece from google.
Controversy The tiger temple has been the subject of controversy on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree message boards, with accusations that the tigers are drugged and that the temple itself is a rip-off. Most of the criticism seems shrill and uninformed to my mind, but read the board and decide for yourself. Further links On balance, there’s a great Untamed Travel Magazine article from 2001 about the Tiger Temple, a general overview in Wikipedia, and the excellent official Tiger Temple site (English version), which has stacks of amazing photos and information, including biographies of each of the tigers. There’s also the newly launched Walking With Tigers website, which describes working as a volunteer with the tigers (and how to volunteer yourself). Thai-Blogs also has a great eye-witness account of visiting the Tiger Temple with some excellent photos. My own collection of Tiger Temple photos is at Photohappy. TripAdvisor has info on other attractions in Kanchanaburi Province, near to the Tiger Temple. David & Aree. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain -- and most fools do. |
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Forum Addict |
Certainly Keith. Ash's comments show that he has either not read or not fully understood any of my posts in this thread. To clarify; I did not say this women's article was the only adverse comment and I did say that I respected Marcus. |
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