The following reports were written by a previous volunteers at the Tiger Temple, who have worked at the Tiger Temple over the years. The most recent volunteer report is from late 2009. Many of these volunteers have asked to remain anonymous, but their testimonials and experiences can be found elsewhere online, as well as here at Tiger Temple Truths.

Please also read the report by Fiona Patchett, who worked at the Tiger Temple for over a year from 2005 - 2006

Tiger Temple Volunteer In August 2009, two Tiger Temple volunteers sustained serious injuries from a tiger attack. One volunteer (picured) received deep scratches. The other was more severely hurt (detailed below). A staff worker witnessed the attack, his testimonial is below:

"In August a volunteer was bitten on the arm by Dollar. He nearly lost his arm. Rod wanted to exercise the more aggressive tigers and let new (1 weeks experience) volunteers participate. I think he had about 3 or 4 surgical procedures to save his arm."

"It is a weekly occurance at least that a tourist is bitten. I saw a 9 year old boy get bitten on the hand, a lady being attacked and going into shock after been bitten on the foot during exercise and many more injuries."

Another Volunteer's report- Summer 2009:

"I used to work for the Tiger Temple (and still like in Kanchanaburi almost a year later, having regular contact with the volunteers when they visit the town - you can't miss them!) and as the time wore on, the sugar-coated exterior quickly faded. The views of the volunteers are extreme, as when you get there you are quickly 'programmed' (whether you admit it or not!) to recite whatever the managers tell you. Nobody I have spoken out to out of many, many groups of volunteers have put forward any independant research they have conducted, they're just happy to parrot whatever they have been told by the Tiger Temple staff.

"A doctor working as a volunteer suggested that one of the illegally caged bears - there are still 2 alive there behind the scenes in tiny cages - had cancer, as he could not swallow food without being sick. The official Tiger Temple vet, nicknamed Dr Death by some of the volunteers due to his lack of veterinary knowledge and lack of skill at vetting animals, disagreed. He replied that the bear couldn't have cancer, as if it had cancer then all it's hair would have fallen out!

"There are also 2 lions who were trader for a tiger a few years ago at the Tiger Temple. It was impossible to 'imprint' them to get them used to humans though, so they live in a tiny, bare cage by the bear enclosure. They are brother and sister, but having reached sexual maturity, they are mating with each other. I heard they were seperated, but when I went to check for myself they were still in the same cage together, inbreeding. This cage is so small it is impossible for them to run, and it is cleaned by a power hose pointed through the bars. The lions hide in fear when the cage is cleaned. We wanted to give them toys to play with, to enrich their cages, but the Abbot would hit the roof if he saw any toys in their cage, so we used to freeze ice cubes as toys for them. This way the ice would melt before he did his nightly 'inspection', and there would be no proof we had given them something to keep them entertained.

"When a tiger gives birth at the temple, it is never known that they were ever pregnant. They give birth and a few days later the cubs are taken away from their mothers and brought out to the Sala (outside covered seating area) for breakfast with with toursts who pay around £100 each for the pleasure of feeding and petting them.

"The list of atrocities goes on and on and on...no matter what the new volunteers that come in every month claim, this place is a sham!

"As of 2010, there are around 60 tigers at the temple now, although the number changes almost daily as tigers are removed and new cubs are born. They generally have a litter of cubs every 2 months.

"In the 'canyon' a chained tiger of any age can be petter over 1000 times a day. There is not much rotation of tigers as they can only allow the very tamest tigers into the canyon. Sometimes though, they do chain up extremely dangerous tigers at the back for tourists to look at, but they are not led to them. The most dangerous tigers have previously pulled their chains and concrete blocks out of the ground they are secured into, and walked back to their cages to get away from the tourists.

"Dangerous tigers are allowed out of their cages on the whim of a Canadian worker every few months, although the last time this happened a volunteer nearly lost his arm and had to endure several months of surgical procedures. This same Canadian worker has also been caught on several occasions stealing vast aounts of money from the temple, and claims to be the Abbot's re-incarnated son, even though the Abbot has suggested he find work elsewhere. The temple claim they cannot fire anyone from their job, but I have seen first-hand volunteers disposed of for talking against what was happening. I imagine that the above worker has some sort of information that the temple do not want in the public domain, and he is blackmaling the Abbot into continuing his employment.

"The tigers only have a day off if they are too aggressive to be handled by the public, in which case they can have days, months or in the case of at least one elderly tiger, a lifetime stuck in a bare cage.

"At one point, at breakfast, the Abbot approached the staff who were forcing five three-week old cubs to drink milk from a bottle. He took one of the babies without saying a word, left the Sala with the cub and returned after empty handed. The cub was never seen again.It can only be assumed that it was sold to a private collector, or arrangements made to trade it with another tiger. Either way, the future of this cub looks very grim indeed.

"I used to defend the place solidly and now feel like a fool for doing so. It is too easy to be taken in and believe everything the staff tell you about the tigers, because many people go there with little to no knowledge of the species. If you do plan on volunteering there, do as much independant research as possible before you get there, so you can make an informed and accurate report on what you are witnessing. Don't go there thinking you can change anything quickly, one of the first things you are told is "You are Farang, the Thais run this place, you cannot change anything, you have been here a month in an operation that has lasted years""

 

A volunteer report of a tiger 'disappearance':

"At approximately 6:30pm, we headed to the outside of the temple to eat our dinner. At 7:15pm, a monk came and sat near our table. He carried a radio and did not speak to us. At approximately 7:30pm we left the outside
area and headed back to our accommodation. As we arrived at the hut I turned and saw the monk looking through the gate at us in our accommodation. There was a radio call. I became very suspicious as all monks are supposed to be in meditation between 7 - 8pm each night. I knew something was going on, so did the other two volunteers. I asked them to let me know if they hear any vehicle movement. At approximately 7:45pm both volunteers heard a truck engine coming through the temple. The front gate was wide open. I rushed with my camera to get a photograph but the vehicle was too fast. The next morning I woke early and checked on the tigers. I arrived to find Fa Rung was not in her cage. She did not return to the temple."

One volunteer couple's experience of working at the Tiger Temple, and their dismay at the tigers' current housing:

"When we visited Tiger Temple, the tigers were caged a lot of the time. However, this was meant to be a temporary state of affairs due to the building of "Tiger Island", a secure piece of ground surrounded by a moat where the tigers could wander free...
... we provided a rough calculation of how much money the temple would raise in one year.  (TTT: £300,000 for cost of Tiger Island)So if over $85000 can be raised in one year, without allowing for an increase in visitor numbers, why are the tigers still caged nearly 2½ years later? (TTT: Now 4 years later)"

"When we were at the temple, it was clear that the staff were untrained in the handling of the tigers."