The Istanbul baby gorilla is one among thousands bootlegged out of war-torn central Africa ISTANBUL, Turkey––An approximately eight-month-old baby western lowland gorilla, rescued from a coffin-like wooden crate on December 22, 2024 at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey, may be the “missing link” between two of the other horrific stories in the news that day. […]
Did stranded macaques come from Cambodia, or from Thai temples?
1,200 monkeys stuck at Charles River Labs have reason to signify HOUSTON, Texas––Twelve hundred illegally imported wild-caught long-tailed macaques at last report were still waiting at a Charles River Laboratory warehouse near Houston for Charles River Laboratories, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and potential sanctuary caretakers to decide what will become of them. […]
Wildlife Friends to evacuate Phuket Zoo; PETA did zip but claims credit
Notorious as one of the world’s worst zoos for 25 years PHUKET, Thailand––The first good-news animal story of 2022, if all goes according to plan, may be the impending evacuation of 11 tigers and two bears from the defunct Phuket Zoo, a target of animal advocacy protest almost from the day it opened in 1996. […]
Animals for ransom: zoos & the COVID-19 cash flow crunch
Is COVID-19 really Armaggedon for zoos, or just another funding pitch? HONG KONG, LONDON––Seven thousand animals at Ocean Park in Hong Kong and as many as 20,000 animals at the London Zoo and subsidiary Whipsnade Zoo are only the most politically conspicuous of thousands of menageries now at risk––and perhaps being held for ransom […]
Busted in 2016, “Tiger Temple” is reincarnated as “Golden Tiger Zoo”
Too much gold in tigers for monks to stay out of the business KANCHANABURI, Thailand––The notorious “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, nominally closed when wildlife authorities impounded 147 tigers in May 2016, has reportedly been reincarnated as the soon-to-open Golden Tiger Zoo, with 24 tigers acquired from the Mali Salika Tiger Zoo in Nakhon Nayok, just […]
Has the Tiger Temple run out of lives?
Tigers impounded, abbot on the run, but tourist trap has survived raids before KANCHANABURI, Thailand––Thai authorities, assisted by personnel from the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand, on May 30, 2016 began impounding the 137 tigers kept by erstwhile Buddhist monks at the internationally notorious Tiger Temple. The monks-turned-tiger-keepers initially turned the impoundment team away, as […]
Elephant coffee: biggest rectums in the coffee business
Only a colossal a**hole could produce elephant dung coffee. CHANG SAEN, Thailand; MADURAI, India––Marketed as a lucrative rump enterprise in support of the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, elephant dung coffee might at first sniff suggest an easy free market approach to fundraising to rescue elephants, of particular appeal to status-seeking Republicans. But […]
“Tiger Temple” trumps Thai government authority again
Thai government cuts a deal BANGKOK, Thailand––The economic and political clout of the notorious “Tiger Temple” in Kanchanaburi, Thailand prevailed again over the last weekend of April 2015. Instead of impounding the 146 resident tigers, the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife & Plant Conservation on April 24, 2015 announced a deal whereby the tigers […]
Thai “Tiger Temple” losing stripes
Thai government announces plan to transfer 146 tigers to government breeding centers BANGKOK, Thailand––The notorious “Tiger Temple” at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, may be near permanent closure, with the planned transfer of all 146 resident tigers to government breeding centers, Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife & Plant Conservation director general […]
Wildlife Friends is converting Lao Zoo into rescue center
The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) is proud to announce that from January 26, 2015 we are actively involved with the “Laos wildlife rescue center” as a part of the Lao Zoo, Vientiane in the Laos PDR. The Lao Zoo is owned by the Ministry of Defense of Laos, and has been kept running by donations […]