A Decade After Tiger Temple: What Have We Learnt?

Ten years ago, Tiger Temple was shut down due to allegations of illegal wildlife trade and poor animal welfare. All 147 tigers at the temple were confiscated to facilities operated by the Thai government’s Department of National Parks (DNP). The closure was framed in the media as a triumph, marking the end of a wildlife tourism venue where tigers interacted with tourists to cater to the “selfie” culture.

But the story was far more complex than the headlines suggested.

Some of the For Tigers team previously worked at Tiger Temple and, as such, experienced a different perspective from the narrative presented in the press. This does not mean that the Temple’s closure was wrong, nor does it mean that some concerns raised about Tiger Temple were without merit. However, it does mean that the wider conversation often lacked the nuance needed to understand both the welfare challenges and the consequences for the tigers that followed. 

For Tigers was created following the Tiger Temple closure, becoming officially registered in the UK in 2018, to help the DNP care for the tigers that were moved to their facilities. Since then, we have spent a decade working alongside the DNP to help the Temple tigers. 

Tiger Temple and Welfare

The picture that was portrayed in the world media suggested that all tigers were kept in barren conditions that caused significant welfare harms, an image perpetuated by photographs published in National Geographic implied that tigers were kept in small concrete spaces without access to outdoor spaces. Yet, this was not the case. 

When Tiger Temple was open, the majority of the tigers were provided with good husbandry, including access to proper veterinary care in the latter years (2014-), were provided access to spacious enclosures that provided environmental complexity, and a consistent enrichment programme, which enabled the tigers to display a range of natural behaviours. In fact, most of the tigers housed at Tiger Temple were never, or no longer, involved in the hands-on tourism part of the facility. Nevertheless, as with many facilities housing a high number of large carnivores, Tiger Temple did face some welfare challenges that warranted legitimate scrutiny. 

Wayha in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Diamond in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Dao Tie in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Dollar in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Dao Nua 2 in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Atom in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Fa Nua in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Fa Nua in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

Mek Dang in an enclosure at Tiger Temple

The Confiscation 

The confiscation of the tigers took place in a rushed and chaotic manner over a five-day period from 30th May to 4th June 2016. Following their relocation, all tigers immediately experienced a significant reduction in their quality of life. They were housed in smaller cages (8x12m) versus the 1000 sqm enclosures at the Temple, had limited access to natural vegetation, social tigers were split from one another, the diet was changed and the enrichment programme was lost entirely. While the closure and subsequent relocation may have been pushed for by NGOs with the intention of improving welfare, the reality was that the sudden transition created significant new welfare challenges that required immediate attention. Because of this, the former Tiger Temple staff stepped in and For Tigers was created to support the tigers and work collaboratively with the DNP.

Storm at the DNP before upgrades

Fasai Jr at the DNP before upgrades

Farmi Jr at the DNP before upgrades

Looking Beyond the Headlines

The international attention surrounding Tiger Temple brought important questions about captive tiger welfare into the public spotlight. However, the public narrative often reduced a highly complex situation into a simple story of good and bad that was not black and white. Stakeholders approached the situation from very different perspectives, often with different priorities and access to different information. As a result, some of the complexities of managing long-term captive tiger populations were lost. Local staff, animal caregivers and veterinarians, government agencies, NGOs, and international campaigners often viewed the situation in different ways. While these perspectives sometimes conflicted, they were often motivated by a shared desire to improve outcomes for the animals involved.

The Importance of Collaboration

One lesson that has stayed with us over the past decade is that lasting welfare improvements do not come from confrontation. Scrutiny and accountability are important, but meaningful change depends on collaboration. Too often, wildlife welfare debates become polarised, which can be to the detriment of the animals involved. In reality, animals benefit most when people with different perspectives work together toward practical solutions. The last ten years have shown us that progress is possible when expertise is shared rather than changes approached in an antagonistic manner and when stakeholders focus on common goals rather than previous disagreements.

This has guided much of our work. So, rather than focusing on past opposition, we have concentrated on building relationships, supporting local capacity and helping improve welfare standards within the current tiger-tourism industry.

A Decade of Practical Work

We founded For Tigers because, whatever the politics of the closure, these tigers existed in DNP facilities and they deserved better than what they initially received. For Tigers remained invested because we, as individuals, were already personally invested in these tigers, as many of us had spent years caring for them before the confiscation, and our commitment did not end when the facility closed.

The work undertaken during the last decade has not been about defending or condemning the closure. It has been about responding to the reality on the ground, that the tigers needed better care, facilities that needed improvement and facilities that required additional resources and support. We have also recognised the extensive challenges that are inherent when confiscating such a high number of big cats at one time, an unprecedented event and one that would present challenges regardless of the location.

Our blogs document this work in detail, which includes:

• Building enclosures to ensure the tigers have access to a natural environment.

• Enrichment programmes have been developed to support the behavioural needs of long-term captive animals.

• Provision of food and medication.

• Staff training initiatives that increased local capacity and expertise.

• Infrastructure projects aimed at creating sustainable welfare improvements.

  
  

These steps may not seem big or headline-worthy, but they are the types of changes that improve the daily lives of captive tigers.

Playing in a newly built tiger pond at the DNP

Long grass in the new DNP enclosures

Enclosures going up

Laying the enclosure foundations

Fire out in his enclosure at the DNP

Saidao Jr in an enclosure at the DNP

Platform and ponds at the DNP

Farmi Jr in an enclosure at DNP

Storm plays with an Aussie Dog ball at DNP

The Wider Failure

What Tiger Temple demonstrated is that the closure of a single facility does not resolve the wider issues surrounding captive wildlife tourism or the demand for captive tiger experiences. This highlights an important reality that improving tiger welfare requires more than working with individual facilities. It requires long-term investment in standards, training, regulation, public education and collaboration across the industry as a whole. The challenge is not simply where tigers are housed, it is how to manage captive wildlife, support welfare improvements and address the factors that continue to drive demand.

What We've Learnt

A decade of work has taught us several important lessons:

Captive tiger welfare is a complex issue often without simple solutions. Welfare challenges exist across many different captive settings, from tourism venues to zoos, sanctuaries and government facilities, ranging from regulatory deficiencies that enable poor welfare to financial and other resource constraints. 

We have also learnt that major interventions, such as the Tiger Temple confiscation, must be accompanied by long-term support. Major interventions are most effective when they are planned alongside local expertise and supported by long-term commitments to animal care after the intervention has taken place.

Finally,  the most meaningful welfare improvements often come from work that receives little public attention. Building enclosures, training staff, improving husbandry protocols and supporting veterinary care may not be flashy, but they create lasting benefits for the animals involved.

The Road Forward

As a charity, we are still here because tigers in captivity deserve better care. This means continuing to:

• Support the DNP’s long-term capacity to care for the tigers in its facilities.

• Improve welfare standards across all captive tiger facilities, including private facilities

• Build sustainable infrastructure that local staff can maintain and expand.

• Advocate for evidence-based approaches to wildlife tourism regulation.

• Support the people carrying out the daily work of caring for these animals.

  
  

A Different Kind of Anniversary

Ten years on, our focus is not on debating what happened in 2016. Instead, we reflect on ten years of committed work that took place largely outside the public eye. We focus on the 25 tigers confiscated from Tiger Temple who are still alive today. Their welfare continues to depend on the decisions made by the people responsible for their care and we want to help ensure that they have the best possible care especially as many of them are now geriatric, requiring even more specialist care. We also reflect how the past decade has reinforced an important lesson: that lasting welfare improvements are rarely achieved by one organisation, one government agency, or one campaign. Progress comes when people are willing to work together, share expertise, and stay engaged long after the headlines have faded.

If there is one message we take from this anniversary, it is that collaboration achieves more than division. Animals do not benefit when stakeholders become entrenched in opposing positions. They benefit when everyone involved commits to the difficult, long-term work of improving their lives. 

Ultimately, we do not want to see any captive tigers in exploitative tourism settings. Our work in helping improve standards at government facilities is one of the stepping stones to help facilitate wider improvements in legislative standards, which are necessary to regulate captive tiger tourism.

The Tiger Temple’s legacy lives on in our work to improve welfare standards for captive tigers in Thailand.