Five arrested for possessing endangered animal parts in Thailand’s Tiger Temple

Bangkok (Thailand) : Five men, including three monks, from Thailand’s Tiger Temple, have been charged with possession of endangered animal parts without permission and were later released on bail.The charges were filled by the Federal officials after 40 dead tiger cubs were found in a freezer at the Buddhist temple, the deputy chief of the country’s parks and wildlife department said.Police Colonel Bandit Mueangsukham said that Thai wildlife officials brought the five suspects to a local police station in the early hours of Friday morning, reports CNN.”We found two pieces of tiger skin, eight to nine pieces of tiger teeth and about 800 to 900 ‘Ta Krud,’ and we are currently looking around the temple for more suspicious items,” CNN quoted Tuenjai Noochdumrong, the director of Thailand’s Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) as saying.’Ta Krud’ reportedly are small containers with pieces of tiger skin, mostly worn as pendants around the neck by people with the superstitious belief that by wearing them they become invincible.The Tiger Temple , however, on Facebook posted denying claims that it possessed tiger skin.”The recent discovery of the tiger skins and necklaces comes as a shock to us as well as the rest of the world. We are disgusted at this discovery and we don’t condone this. We are looking forward to the authorities bringing the culprits to justice.”The national parks department has relocated 100 tigers from the temple, and plans to remove 30 more by Saturday.