Cory Wright, Tiger Temple's Last Days (Doco/Photojournalism (2018))

Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno, in western Thailand was more commonly known as the ‘Tiger Temple’ to it’s visitors. As it’s name suggests, it began as a temple but soon became a refuge for wildlife found injured, or orphaned. After the arrival of two young tigers breeding began and in the space of just over 15 years nearly 150 tigers would be housed on the Temple’s grounds. Realising the commercial value of the tigers the Temple became a magnet for foreign tourists who, for 600 baht, could walk, feed, photograph and pet these exotic yet domesticated animals. In June 2016 however, amid growing pressure from animal rights groups after allegations of smuggling and trafficking Thai wildlife officials launched an operation to remove the tigers from the temple’s grounds. The tigers could no longer be considered 'wild' due to a high level of human interaction throughout their lives and would therefore be confiscated and taken to a government facility. For the numerous volunteers who had grown close to the tigers over months and even years, the possibility of having them removed taken away was particularly distressing. Having formed close bonds with the animals, some of the longest serving volunteers expressed concern that the government facility the tigers were moved to would not provide them with the same enrichment and level of care that they were given at the temple. Over the course of 6 days nearly 140 tigers were removed and relocated from the Temple’s grounds. Some, due to age and size, suffered complications whilst being sedated and stopped breathing and even suffered cardiac arrest during the process. All were successfully revived, but one tiger has since died in the government’s care.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.