Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation used tranquiliser guns to sedate and place the tigers from Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yanasampanno in two six-wheeled trucks which took them to wildlife conservation centres in Ratchaburi province.
The trucks departed from the temple in Sai Yok district for the Khao Son and Khao Prathub Chang animal reserves, according to a source involved with the operation.
Thanya Netithammakun, the department’s deputy-director general, told Thai Rath Online this morning (Jan 29) that the five tigers had already been moved to Ratchaburi. The department will follow regulations governing care of the animals, he said.
Thailand-based wildlife activists hailed the move. Edwin Wiek, founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, tweeted today that it is a positive, but small, step toward ending animal trafficking and abuse.
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