Dozens of tiger cub bodies discovered in freezer in Thai Buddhist temple

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Forty dead tiger cubs have been found in a freezer at a Buddhist temple in Thailand. Known as the "Tiger Temple", the site has been a target for wildlife activists for years. They believe the temple is a hub for wildlife trafficking and animal abuse. The grisly discovery was made by wildlife officials tasked with removing tigers from the temple this week.

• Related: 40 dead tiger cubs found in Thai temple freezer

Sybelle Foxcroft first went to the Tiger Temple nearly a decade ago. Now she's the director of the group Conservation and Environmental Education for Life, or Cee4life. 

"It was shocking," Foxcroft tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "I did know that the female tigers had been breeding a great deal. But I wasn't aware that they were keeping the bodies of these little cubs in the freezer."

The Tiger Temple insists that the cubs died of natural deaths, and that their bodies were preserved simply as evidence in case of an investigation. Officials at the temple told the BBC that the rates of death among tiger cubs are comparable or lower than at other facilities. Foxcroft refutes those claims. 

"We've investigated the Tiger Temple for 10 years," she says. "And there's been a lot more cubs born than just 40 that have suddenly disappeared. And in the past, the Tiger Temple has said that when their tigers die, they bury them or burn them on the property of Tiger Temple. They said that for a few years, and the next time they said that they were informing the DNP (Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand) of any deaths of any tigers at all. In this case it hasn't happened. None of these were reported."

Although we earlier had absolute evidence that they were trafficking tigers and multiple witnesses who had seen that, it had to be absolutely undeniable evidence.- Sybelle Foxcroft

Asked if the authorities have acted on Cee4Life's years-long investigation into the Tiger Temple, Foxcroft explains that enforcing animal trafficking laws in Thailand can be difficult.

"In Thailand, you're working with a number of different laws," she explains. "You've got laws for monks and a variety of other obstacles to get around. So although we earlier had absolute evidence that they were trafficking tigers and multiple witnesses who had seen that, it had to be absolutely undeniable evidence. We had a breakthrough last year when one of the Tiger Temple insiders, who was a pro-bono lawyer for the Tiger Temple, contacted us after he had tried very hard to report what had happened. He is a true Buddhist, and was working pro-bono because in the Buddhist culture he was earning his merit by doing this work for a revered monastery." 

Foxcroft says that the lawyer presented her with evidence, via 2014 CCTV recordings, of tigers entering the temple.

In the Chinese traditional medicines, [the tiger] is thought of as a walking drug store. Any part of the tiger — eyeballs are used for epilepsy, whiskers for toothache. Cut the paws off and hang them over the door and it will chase away ghosts.- Sybelle Foxcroft

"I watched them go into the temple, take the tigers, and then they were gone the next morning. All the staff knew. They said nothing about it. He then showed me an interview that he had carried out with the senior temple worker, who has been there for many years. He used to be a monk. And he admitted to opening the gates to Tiger Island where the tigers are actually kept. And the order was given to him by the abbot of the Tiger Temple. It was terrible. The major part is the abbot of the Tiger Temple admitting that it is the policy of the Tiger Temple to kill their tigers."

Foxcroft says she is convinced that the temple has profited from the trade in tiger body parts.

"In the Chinese traditional medicines, [the tiger] is thought of as a walking drug store. Any part of the tiger — eyeballs are used for epilepsy, whiskers for toothache. Cut the paws off and hang them over the door and it will chase away ghosts. And these are very heavily-embedded beliefs in historical culture."

As for the surviving 150 tigers at the temple, Foxcroft says they are currently being transferred to Department of National Park facilities.

"My organization is going to be helping care for these tigers — adjusting all the tigers into their new environment. Hopefully we'll put in a new water system, add grass to their enclosures, look after them and help them adjust."

But as to why the tiger cubs were kept in the freezer, Foxcroft says she can only speculate.

"I have no idea why they've kept those cubs. In some circumstances they can be kept because certain people like to have small cubs taxidermed for trophies. And they're worth quite a lot of money. These cubs were either aborted, or they died shortly after birth, or they were killed. It's quite disturbing."

For more on this story, take a listen to our full interview with Sybelle Foxcroft.