Sharing is caring!

Seeing wild animals up close and personal has always been something of a luxury experience. When given the opportunity to cuddle up with a live tiger, it becomes a bucket-list item for many people.

It is said that close, wild animal encounters can give us an ego boost. Something that not everyone does.

Bragging rights.

In Thailand, there are two popular wildlife encounters that tourists flock to, elephants and tigers. Since Thailand is a tropical jungle, this was the perfect home for such animals.

Unfortunately, for some, these animals have been captured, killed, or forced to work in the tourism industry. This post is going to cover Thailand’s tiger industry. If you’re interested in learning about elephants, you can read more here.

What is Tiger Kingdom in Thailand?

Tiger Kingdom in Thailand runs two locations, one in Chiang Mai and one in Phuket. The Chiang Mai location first opened its doors to tourists in 2008 when an Australian group requested to have a closer tiger encounter similar to the caretakers. Before this, it was known to just be a zoo specializing in tigers.

You could say that this was the start of transitioning the zoo into a tourist attraction to gain a profit. And this idea really took off. Tiger Kingdom’s second location opened in 2013 in Phuket, a major tourist destination.

While living in Chiang Mai and visiting Phuket, it was impossible to not see an advertisement for Tiger Kingdom. Posters were in many songthaews (red truck taxis) and are featured in every tour operation office.

Tiger Kingdom states that they are focused on the conservation and well-being of the tigers at their facilities. They want to provide an educational experience for guests with their Tiger Trail and Keeper for a Day programs. Both programs are options to volunteer at the facility and work hand-in-hand with the trainers and caretakers.

Lastly, the goal at Tiger Kingdom is to be a leader in tiger care and promote conservation efforts. They partner with Plant a Tree Today Foundation and Conversation Community. Plant a Tree Today Foundation is focused on reforesting land in Ratchaburi on the western side of Thailand near the border of Burma. This is a popular area for Thailand’s remaining wildlife. The Conversation Community was created by Tiger Kingdom, and they are still raising money to get it started.

Treatment of Tigers

The tigers at Tiger Kingdom are cared for by on-staff veterinarians. They receive daily check-ups in the morning before tourists come. Once the facility opens the tigers are taken to their places for the day to interact with guests.

Prices of tickets for general animal encounters range from $40 to $130 USD. These prices are based on how large the tiger is. Small cubs are the cheapest option while older, larger tigers are more expensive.

Hundreds of people come to see these tigers every day. All wanting pictures and their 10 minutes with a big cat. How is it that these animals obediently sit and have people pet them all day? Even my house cat doesn’t like that much attention! Why is there such an appeal for big cats that makes us forget about how dangerous they can be?

After all, they have large, sharp teeth and claws for a reason.

The Difference Between Tiger Temples

The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province is owned by the government. This location is famously used by monks seen handling tigers.

There has been a lot of scrutiny over the treatment of tigers at this location due to poor facilities and improper handling of the animals.

For years, animal rights groups criticized the Tiger Temple for allowing tourists to handle the animals, a business that brought in $5.7 million a year for the temple.

New York Times

Not only was the temple cashing in on tourism, but it is believed to be smuggling tiger parts to other Asian countries like China where tigers are believed to be used as medicine.

The temple was raided in 2016 when it was discovered that monks were trying to smuggle 1,600 tiger parts and 60 small tiger cubs, dead in jars.

During the raid, the tigers that were still at the temple were transported to other government facilities for treatment. Many tigers ended up dying which is thought to have been caused by poor management of the tigers during transportation.

The tigers lacked enough space to roam around in the new government facility. They were stressed and had a new diet which caused some of them to refuse to eat. Some tigers are known to have been inbred at the Tiger Temple which also caused health concerns.

A New Name

Shockingly, this facility was set to reopen under a new name in 2017 called Golden Tiger (Thailand) Co. Ltd in Chiang Mai. After an investigation from World Animal Protection, this new facility was not granted a zoo license because it did not meet the requirements.

However, they suggested a new location that happened to be right next to the previous temple in Kanchanaburi on an 8-acre lot to satisfy the requirements. They claimed to want to set everything up correctly this time, but media coverage pushed for not opening the facility.

There have been rumors that the monk in charge of the temple purchased land overseas in Europe to possibly start a new facility. The appeal of how profitable the business was a key driver in purchasing the land.

How Tourism is Affecting Tigers

Obviously, tourism has a big impact on the tigers. This is a main source of income to provide for the animals. Costs can be expensive for food, medicine, and veterinarian care.

Tigers bred at these facilities have a very little chance of surviving in the wild. They are accustomed to human care and may not know how to find food on their own.

On the other hand, their natural habit is being destroyed by humans. These animals don’t have anywhere to safely live.

So, the question comes down to, are we doing more harm than good?

Do these animals deserve to be treated and cared for by humans their whole life?

Are they better off in their natural habitat?

What makes these facilities in Thailand more appealing than those in the United States, like Tiger King? Millions of people watched Tiger King and were angry that such facilities existed in America. But these same facilities located in exotic Thailand, make for the perfect bucket-list opportunity.