Poachers, wildlife traffickers and cons are using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogs and all forms of social media, and sometimes mainstream media, to track the location of where critically endangered animals are and the locations of  in-demand species used for the scientifically proven false fake traditional medicines.  These poachers, wildlife traffickers and cons also use social media platforms and some main stream media to locate critically endangered and in demand animals to  scalp their fur or other body parts for the misguided, ancient, outdated and uneducated belief that owning the fur of a tiger, the horn of a Rhino, the claws of a Lion, and countless more sickening things, gives them status. Cons latch onto stories in social media and create fake fundraising campaigns usually on fundraising sites where virtually no credential checking is required.  Cee4life will no longer be announcing locations of any wild animals that we aid until the safety of the animal is secured.  Be-careful, its a cyber crime jungle out there.

Help protect animals from the cyber criminals #Stopanimalcybercrime

Here are a few articles on what the cyber criminals do to track animals from social media, blogs and more.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-posting-your-safari-photos-on-social-media-leads-hunters-straight-to-the-animals-you-love-2016-8

https://isafari.nathab.com/blog/how-facebook-is-helping-poachers-kill-elephants-and-rhinos-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/douggollan/2016/08/12/stop-the-poachers-how-to-practice-safe-social-media-on-safari/#128fa9ce3c94

https://dailyevergreen.com/29877/life/life-at-sea-poachers-will-use-social-media/

Recently, an article was published by an organisation named “For Tigers”.  From information available, the formation of the “For Tigers” organisation occurred AFTER the Department of National Parks in Thailand confiscated the tigers from the notorious Tiger Temple in 2016. We feel that the public needs to know, for transparency purposes, who “For Tigers” is and who they consist of.  “For Tigers” was created by ex tiger temple volunteers and other members. While an organisation like this may seem good in writing, dont be fooled, we believe that their article deserves a response.  Here is their article – http://www.fortigers.org/single-post/2018/05/30/TWO-YEARS-ON-WHERE-ARE-THE-TIGER-TEMPLE-TIGERS-NOW

Background

The Tiger Temple was a venue in Thailand that started breeding tigers for tourism encouraging “selfies” with tourists, including parents putting their babies as small as 4 months old, to sit on the stomach of an adult tiger (one of the most obvious dangerous things you could do).  But this is how the Tiger Temples marketing machine worked, luring people to believe that “Monks and Tigers lived in harmony”, however behind the scene’s sickening abuses and disappearances of tiger began occurring as early as the 1990’s .  Many tourists rushed to get up close to these otherwise solitary animals, but were never told of the multiple bites and mauling the tigers would do once they became fed up with being chained, beaten, exploited and abused.  The Tiger Temple had a multitude of foreign volunteers working in the temple, some short term, some long term.  While some volunteers were sickened by what they saw and immediately left, others stayed for long periods of time (years).  These volunteers called the Tiger Temple their home, and would turn a blind eye to all horrifying abuse. While the disappearances of multiple tigers occurred over years, not one long term volunteer stepped forward to reveal the truth of what was occurring.  Members of Cee4life and the general public recruited  by Cee4life, investigated the Tiger Temple for nine years to gather the evidence of the trafficking and abuses in order to save the lives of these magnificent tigers.  Cee4life presented all evidence to the Department of National Parks Thailand in December 2015.  When the final raids began  by the Department of National Parks Thailand in January 2016, which coincided with the National Geographic release of their confirmed findings and Cee4life’s The ‘Tiger Temple” report, the Tiger Temple put up a fight to keep the Department of National Parks Thailand out of the grounds of the Tiger Temple.  Cee4life presented the Department of National Parts with a second report in late May 2016, which chronicled the illegal sales and transport of tiger body parts across multiple countries.  The Department of National Parks Thailand recommenced their raid on the Tiger Temple in June 2016 in which they found multiple dead tigers among other animals, and multiple tiger body parts and other bottled tigers were found.  A vehicle tried to escape the Temple grounds, but was caught with tiger skins and thousands of tiger body part necklaces trinkets, which were also worn by many of the foreign staff and other temple workers.  The temple was closed.  Charges are still pending on the killers of these tigers. Many of those who abused and exploited the tigers are associated with the newly formed group called “For Tigers”.

Please read and go to all links on – The Tiger Temple Report – http://www.cee4life.org/wp-content/uploads/cee4life_tiger-temple-report.pdf

Brief Summary

The “For Tigers” article does ask one relevant question, “Where are the tiger temple tigers now”, the answer is – they are in the Department of National Parks facilities, but still the ex volunteers of the Tiger Temple, responsible for savage abuses and turning a blind eye to the disappearances of so many tigers, still lurk around them.  For transparency purposes, we feel the need to reveal the role of some of the members of “For Tigers” and what they actually did to protect the tigers during the years leading up to the confiscation of the tigers of the Tiger Temple in Thailand.  One word – nothing.

It is very well known and proven that the tigers of the Tiger Temple endured multiple abuses which they were subjected to by some of the members of the “For Tigers” organisation, however “For Tigers” fails to chronicle the disappearances and the deaths of the tigers at Tiger Temple which occurred under their watch.  They fail to state how for years they denied this abuse existed and denied any vanishing tigers, and they fail to come clean and admit how they turned a blind eye to such heinous atrocities.

One astounding and vitally important point is how they fail miserably to reveal the extraordinary lengths that many organisations, people and reputable media went to in order to try to protect the tigers and stop the killing and disappearances. They fail to reveal how ex volunteers, including members of “For Tigers”,  countered, ignored and refused any and all help offered to stop the slaughter, exploitation and vile abuses, many by their own hands.  They fail to reveal that any authentic person who did volunteer at Tiger Temple, and who questioned the abuse of the tigers was immediately belittled, character assassinated and thrown out.

The above photographs in this article is a very small look into what happened under the watch of some of these members.

So our response, without prejudice is this.

Over a period of 15 years, tigers were abused, whipped with chains, planked, dressed up in garish outfits for the pleasure of some of these volunteers.  They were hit, beaten, abused, and the ultimate of crimes, they were killed and trafficked and traded for their body parts, and some apparently vanished so Tiger Temple could acquire tigers for stronger bloodlines (as they were so inbred).  Lets not forget the making and selling of tiger body part trinkets for tourists – illegal and criminal.   Within the Tiger Temple, some of these same people in “For Tigers” irreverently and ignorantly wore the illegal teeth and claws of these tigers against the laws of CITES and Thai Wildlife Act, and one step further, these tiger body part trinkets were transported to multiple countries, where at any point in time, if caught, the punishments could have been up to 10 years in jail.

The temple staff, including members of “For Tigers”, failed to provide veterinary aid to the tigers when they so desperately needed help.  They gave tigers plastic bags to play with, they contributed enormously to the sickening “tiger selfies” fad which at one point was a “must have” on the public tourism itinerary.  By forcing tigers to endure these sadistic and cruel acts, they are highly responsible for teaching literally thousands of unknowing tourists the most abusive, exploitative and worst way to treat a magnificent tiger.  They would place ten or more tigers into one cement jail cell while telling the public that the tigers were living in lush massive enclosures, however 147 tiger in approximately 20 enclosures – do the math.

Other staff opened the gates of the tiger temple and allowed tiger traffickers to come into the temple and vanish precious tigers in the middle of the night never to be seen again, and some of the members of “For Tigers” knew all this and more. The tigers were brutalized beyond comprehension, used and exploited like no other venue on the face of this earth, except maybe China and Vietnam.

Under the watch of multiple ex tiger temple volunteers (who support For Tigers) not one volunteer associated now with For Tigers had the inclination or courage to stand up and stop these heinous crimes.  Some of the  members of “For Tigers”, were present inside the tiger temple for approximately nine years.  In that nine years, approximately 267 tigers vanished.  But their silence was deafening.

In the days after the confiscation, the only time members of “For Tigers”  opened their mouths was when the Department of National Parks Thailand finally came to close this evil venue.  A weak and cowardly action which seems to have only been carried out to serve themselves and save themselves. If the Department of National Parks had not confiscated the tigers, these people in staying with their long term character, would have remained silent and the disappearances and abuse would have continued.

It took courage and brave souls to expose this hell and ultimately protect these tigers from their continued horrifying abuses. Yet, we get the distinct impression that “For Tigers” would like to make themselves seem to be the saviors of the very tigers that they betrayed for so long.

The “For Tigers” article who’s organisation consists of some of the ex tiger temple volunteers, and who under their watch, knew multiple tigers disappeared, did not have the courage to speak up until it served themselves.

As for their article, “Two years on and what is happening to the tigers:”

1. Multiple tigers died from disease contracted within the Tiger Temple, days BEFORE the Department of National Parks Thailand confiscated them and closed the evil venue down,
2. More tigers died of that same disease contracted within the tiger temple upon arrival and over time at the Department of National Parks facilities from no fault of their own,
3. The severe inbreeding and subsequent lowering of their immune system caused some tigers to die at an early age, and finally once again to answer For Tigers question,
4. The Department of National Parks is caring for the tigers, they belong to the Thai Government.

We would like to add that while the tigers lived inside the Tiger Temple, they were in vile cement cells, with no den, and often overcrowded with numerous tigers which forced them to sit in the faeces and urine while their food was thrown on the ground or in bacteria ridden cement bowls.  They were deprived of everything.  Yet the 20 outside enclosures they managed to build in 15 years,  seems to be a point of pride and one which they feel justified that they were caring for the tigers.  The claim by the ex volunteers of the Tiger Temple was that the tigers were rotated regularly so each tiger received time outside. One of our undercover investigators noted on numerous occasions that the rotation of the tigers in these outside enclosures was so minimal that at one point, some tigers didnt see sunlight or touch grass and were not rotated for three months.

The Department of National Parks facilities may not be the ultimate living quarters, but the tigers are not being brutalized, exploited, beaten, planked, having selfies, and they are not disappearing in the middle of the night.

Dont ever think we have forgotten about the tigers of the temple.

Our finale response to the emotionally driven article aimed to pull your heart strings by “For Tigers” and their ex tiger temple members is this  – There is not enough that you could ever do in one hundred lifetimes to make up for the atrocities inflicted upon those tigers, many by your own hand.  There is not enough that you could ever do to bring back the vanished tigers that were lost  under your watch and who you turned a blind eye to and remained silent.  So you keep on raising funds under your veiled compassion, which is born from sheer betrayal, you keep on building things for the tigers, for this is the very least you could do. You turned your backs on the atrocities committed on these beautiful tigers for nearly a decade. You committed the ultimate betrayal  as you knew what was happening,  your shocking in-action lasted for years, and no matter what you do, these things you did will forever be owned and belong to you.

Related articles

The Tiger Temple Report – http://www.cee4life.org/wp-content/uploads/cee4life_tiger-temple-report.pdf

National Geographic Exclusive – https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160121-tiger-temple-thailand-trafficking-laos0/

Film by US Rebecca Rodriguez – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4xLG8m7too

There are many people in the world who would do anything to save an animal.  In most cases it is very normal for an animal lover to want to ease the suffering of an injured or abused animal that they may come across.  But there are some rules in regard to this. 1) Dont buy animals from known illegal black markets in foreign countries, and 2) Dont walk into foreign countries looking for an animal to save in a seedy venue.  The otter pictured above was in a hellish situation. Probably captured from the wild, kept in filthy conditions and fed incorrectly.  A desperate sight in deed.

In situations like this, our human hearts react long before any intelligent thought kicks in.  We are filled with sorrow that this poor animal is in such a dreadful condition.  But what fails many people is that they have no idea of what the serious repercussions can be from acquiring these animals in these markets.  In 2017, a unknown US woman by the name of Rebecca Rodriguez, who claimed to be in Indonesia to help so called “starving sunbears” in Bandung Zoo (who were not starving) is led by a local to an illegal animal market.  Rebecca herself highlights in her video clearly that these animals are in an illegal animal market. Note: Illegal.

What unfolded next was Rebecca Rodriguez and her “team” of “experts” proceed to document the procurement of two otters, from what she herself has labelled an illegal animal market.  The sweet music and touching video documents the so called rescue of the protected and endangered Asian small clawed otter.  What followed was a crafted heart wrenching video and a story that was swung to coerce the public into believing what a wonderful human being this person was for procuring this endangered protected species from an illegal market. Low and behold, Rodriguez forgets to mention the punishment that goes with procuring illegal animals from markets in a foreign country.

What happened to the intelligent thoughts that said “call the police” or “call the zoos and aquariums”?  That is only a question that the film maker can answer. So not one, but two otters were procured.

What happened next was beyond comprehension.  The otters are taken to a hotel, where they are then seen inside a shower with a human being.

Otters like this, especially in the illegal animal trade, carry some of the most deadly diseases that can be passed onto humans and to other animals.  So after this showering episode, the otters were taken to a wildlife sanctuary in Indonesia where thankfully they were immediately put into quarantine.  This was very fortunate because the otters were diseased and could have wiped out the entire sanctuaries population.

Sadly, this type of behavior encourages more people to do the same thing but we hope that this article has educated in what you must not do.

If you go to one of these illegal animal markets and you see a protected endangered species, your first point of call should be the police and the zoos and aquariums. Dont do what these people did in this video.

No matter how much it pulls at your heart strings, procuring animals from illegal markets doesnt help the animals, and in fact it feeds the demand for more animals to be stolen from the wild and sold in the very same illegal animal market.

We hope that the people who acquired these diseased otters and showered with them and cuddled up with them were fully inoculated.

The message here is – dont buy animals from illegal markets, dont shower with them, dont cuddle them – report them to the authorities or legitimate wildlife authorites.

After 4 months of getting aid to Raju the elephant, we are very sad to announce that Raju passed away under very troubling circumstances.  We will endeavor to keep working with the Sri Lankan NGO’s to help in whatever way we can.  Further investigations into Raju’s death continues.

In March 2018, Cee4life were approached by a conservationist in Sri Lanka who was seeking aid to a wild elephant named Raju, who had been shot while foraging, and those bullets were still lodged in his legs. After a myriad of logistical problems, Raju received the Veterinary expertise in June 2018.   The complex operation to remove the bullets would be done in late July 2018 by the brilliant Veterinarians from Four Paws.  Sadly, due to troubling circumstances occurring between 30th June 2018 – 2nd July 2018, Raju passed away.  Cee4life will continue to work with Sri Lankan NGO’s for the conservation, protection and education for the animals.

Further investigations into Raju’s death continues.

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