Tigers to be freed. News Story Original Version (Primary) schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org. 20th April 2015

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1 Tigers to be freed 20th April 2015 AFTER 15 years of complaints by animal rights campaigners, all the tigers held at Thailand s Tiger Temple are set to be freed by the end of April. The temple is famous for keeping more than a hundred tigers within its grounds. Tourists pay an entrance fee to visit the temple and are able to feed the tiger cubs or take a selfie with one of the big cats. Although the monks and staff at the temple claimed that they were helping to protect tigers, over the years there have been many claims of animal cruelty. The News Story Original Version (Primary) temple has been accused of taking lion cubs away from their mothers at too young an age, drugging the tigers to make sure they aren t dangerous to visitors and not allowing the big cats to have enough exercise. It has also been claimed that tigers have been illegally bought and sold by the temple and that older tigers may have been sold to other countries so that their body parts could be used to make traditional Chinese medicines. Following pressure from animal rights campaigners, director-general of Thailand s Department of National Parks, Nipon Chotiban, announced that all of the temple s tigers must be set free by the end of this month. schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org

2 20th April 2015 Tigers to be freed The tigers at the Tiger Temple, in Thailand, will be set free by the end of April. This follows a 15-year campaign by animal lovers about the cruel treatment of the tigers at the temple. The Tiger Temple is famous for keeping more than a hundred tigers. It is very popular with tourists who pay up to $180 to take a selfie photograph with a tiger. The monks at the temple argue that the tigers have a free and peaceful life there and are protected from poachers. However, there have been complaints for years about animal abuse at the temple. News Story Simplified Version Wildlife conservationists and animal rights activists claim that the tigers are drugged, so that they won t harm the visitors. They also have evidence that the tigers live in terrible conditions: they don t have enough exercise and spend 20 hours a day in small cages. Furthermore, the Tiger Temple takes lion cubs away from their mothers, it illegally trades tigers and it allows older tigers to be killed to make traditional Chinese medicines. The Thai government has now agreed to remove the tigers from the Tiger Temple by the end of this month.

3 TIGERS TO BE FREED ADDITIONAL FACTS AND FIGURES ILLEGAL TRADE It is against the law to exchange or sell tigers. However, the Tiger Temple gave older tigers to a tiger farm in Laos (a country next to Thailand). They are sold and killed, often to make a medicine called tiger bone glue. The Tiger Temple then got younger tiger cubs in return. The new tigers were given the same names as the older animals. That is why people didn t know that so many Tiger Temple tigers have died. Laos STOP WILDLIFE SELFIES! Selfies are fun but not for captive wild animals. To stop wild animals from hurting people, their claws are cut and their teeth are taken out. Animals, like tigers are also given drugs so that they are sleepy and easier to photograph. Sadly, when an animal doesn t look cute enough for a selfie, it is killed. That s why the Care for the Wild International charity, wants tourists to stop taking photos of themselves with wild animals, such as tigers. TIGER FACTS Tigers are native to Asia. Until the 20th Century there were about 100,000 animals but now there are fewer than 3,000 endangered tigers left in the wild. This is due to: illegal hunting for their fur, meat and bodies (used in traditional medicines) as well as habitat loss from logging (cutting down trees for wood). Thailand

4 KEY TOPIC VOCABULARY CAN you match the correct definition to the key words in this news story? illegal People who argue that animals should be protected from harm because they believe animals have rights too traditional Chinese medicine A photo of yourself, taken by yourself tiger bone glue Men, like the Buddhist monks of Tiger Temple, who live in a religious community monks Medicines from China, based on old beliefs rather than scientific knowledge. Many animal parts are used in the medicines. native Not legal - against the law selfie A traditional Chinese medicine made by boiling up tiger bones. endangered Naturally occurring in an area. For example, tigers are native to Asia. animal rights campaigners Likely to become extinct because there are so few of the animals left in the wild.

5 KNOW THE FACTS FIND the answers to these questions to make sure you know the facts behind the news story: 1) Where is Tiger Temple and why is it famous? 2) What announcement has just been made? 3) Describe how tigers are thought to have been mistreated at the temple. 4) What is claimed to have happened to older tigers? 5) How many tigers remain in the wild, and why has the population gone down so dramatically?

6 POINTS OF VIEW WHAT DO YOU THINK? Discuss these questions with other people to develop your ideas. 1) Why do you think tourists liked visiting this temple? 2) Why do you think the monks wanted to keep tigers at the temple? 3) People have been campaigning to get these tigers released for years. Why do you think the Thai tourist minister finally made this decision? 4) Why is it wrong to treat animals such as tigers in this way? 5) Humans are animals. How are we the same as other animals? How are we different? Should humans and animals be treated the same? SHARE your thoughts on these questions with your partner school.

7 VOTE, COMMENT, ACT CAN you explore this news story even further? 1) Endangered animals the IUCN categories The world s animals and plants are grouped into seven internationally-agreed categories to explain how at risk they are of extinction. Lower risk LC Least Concern NT Near Threatened The IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) has made the categories. This organisation collects information on animal numbers and decides which category an animal (or plant) falls into. Can you find out what each category means? Threatened V Vulnerable EN Endangered CR Critically Endangered Find an example of an animal (or plant) in each category. Are any of these animals (or plants) from your country or the country of your partner school? Extinct EW Extinct in the Wild EX - Extinct 2) Campaign for change Sadly, many animals are endangered and action needs to be taken to ensure they survive. Can you help spread the word? Choose one of the animals below, or choose another endangered animal from your own research. Angel shark Brown-headed spider monkey Amur leopard Bluefin tuna Leatherback turtle Mountain gorilla How can you communicate the plight of the animal to the people around you? Some ideas might include: A poster Leaflets An assembly Badges A slogan You might want to: Describe the animal Explain why it is endangered Explain what can be done to help improve the animal s chances. Share your campaign with your partner school.