Tigers at Thailand’s famed Tiger Temple live in cramped concrete enclosures. A new report links the monastery, which houses 147 tigers, to the black market tiger trade. The temple, formally known as Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno, doubles as an attraction for visitors who want hands-on contact with some of its 147 captive tigers. Busloads of tourists come to pet and feed cubs, play with tigers, walk them on leashes, and take selfies with a tiger’s head in their lap. The enterprise is estimated to generate income equivalent to three million dollars a year. Former workers and animal welfare advocates have alleged that the tigers have been abused and exploited: beaten, fed poorly, in need of veterinary care, and housed in small concrete cages with little opportunity for exercise or time outdoors. The monks have denied this. Last month, photographer Steve Winter and I went to the temple to look into an incident that occurred just over a year ago. According to our sources, in late December 2014, three adult male tigers vanished from the temple: seven-year-old Dao Nua, three-year-old Facram 3, and Happy 2, who was five. Nothing has come to light about the fate of the missing tigers, and no one has been charged or prosecuted. But the government intends to relocate the tigers from the temple to state wildlife facilities in the next few days. Captive tigers slipped into the illicit trade “help fuel a growing demand for tiger products in China and other parts of Asia,” Banks says. D parts “are now consumed less as medicine and more as exotic luxury products,” according to a 2014 report commissioned by CITES. Tiger-bone wine (brewed by steeping a tiger skeleton in rice wine) and the cat’s magnificent skins (used in high-end home décor) have become coveted status symbols among China’s elite. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160121-tiger-temple-thailand-trafficking-laos0/