In Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, a Buddhist temple known as the Tiger Temple, has become a popular tourist attraction—and a source of controversy. For years, accusations of illegal breeding, inadequate care, and animal trafficking have hounded the temple, which housed as many as 140 of the big cats. This week, Thai wildlife officials armed with a court order entered the temple to remove the tigers and investigate potential criminal misconduct. The carcasses of at least 40 undeclared tiger cubs were discovered in a freezer on the property.
The Taking of Thailand's Temple Tigers
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Read moreA Buddhist monk plays with a tiger at the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, on February 12, 2015. #
Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters -
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Read moreThe entrance of the Tiger Temple, west of Bangkok, Thailand, on February 25, 2016. #
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Read moreTigers gather behind a fence at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province on February 25, 2016. #
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Read moreA Buddhist monk plays with a young tiger at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery on January 20, 2010. #
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Read moreA foreign girl poses for a photo with a tiger at the Tiger Conservation Center, at a Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi Province, on July 23, 2005. #
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Read moreA Thai Buddhist Monk fends off a playful attack from an Asian Tiger at the Wat Pa Luangtabua Temple on May 22, 2001. #
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Read moreA tiger jumps while it is being trained at the Tiger Temple on February 25, 2016. #
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Read moreA young Buddhist monk walks ahead of a pair of tiger cubs on the grounds of Luang Ta Bua Temple on May 16, 2003. #
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Read moreAn adult male tiger plays in a pool at a temple that offers care for tigers in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, on January 20, 2010. #
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Read moreOn May 30, 2016, Thai Department of National Parks (DNP) officials prepare weapons with sedative darts as they start moving tigers from the Tiger Temple. #
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Read moreA Thai DNP veterinarian officer aims as he prepares to shoot a tranquilizer dart at a caged tiger at the Tiger Temple on June 1, 2016. #
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Read moreA sedated tiger is stretchered as officials start moving tigers from the Tiger Temple on May 30, 2016. #
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Read moreThai DNP officers remove a sedated tiger from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple on June 1, 2016. #
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Read moreThai DNP officers carry a sedated tiger out of its cage on June 1, 2016. #
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Read moreThai DNP officers load a sedated tiger onto a truck on June 1, 2016. #
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Read moreThai wildlife officials load a caged tiger onto a truck after they removed it from an enclosure on May 30, 2016. #
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Read moreA tiger peers through the bars of its cage at the Tiger Temple on June 1, 2016. #
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Read moreThai DNP officers collect samples for DNA testing from the carcasses of 40 tiger cubs and a Binturong (also known as a bearcat) found undeclared at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple on June 1, 2016. #
Dario Pignatelli / Getty
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