Thai Officials Raid Popular Tourist Attraction ‘Tiger Temple’ to Remove Tigers After Abuse Accusations

Thai wildlife officials carry a tiger on a stretcher as they remove it from an enclosure after it was anaesthetised at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand on May 30, 2016. Thai wildlife officials armed with a court order on May 30 resumed the treacherous process of moving tigers from a controversial temple which draws tourists as a petting zoo, but stands accused of selling off the big cats for slaughter. / AFP / CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images)

Wildlife officials in Thailand have started removing some of the 137 tigers at a Buddhist temple after monks were accused of illicit acts.

Monks at the Tiger Temple in the Kachanburi province, a popular tourist destination, were allegedly involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the exotic animals.

The temple has also faced criticism because the tigers appear to be drugged while tourists take selfies with them and bottle-feed the animals.

A foreign tourist poses for a photo with a tiger at Tiger buddhist temple in Karnchanaburi province, western Thailand on April 24, 2012. (Pornchai Kittiwonsakul/AFP/Getty Images)

Thai wildlife officials load a tiger into a cage on a truck after they removed it from an enclosure after the tiger was anaesthetised at the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand on May 30, 2016. (Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images)

On May 31, teams stopped rounding up tigers late in the afternoon because it was too hot to sedate the animals. According to Edwin Wiek from WFFT, 20 tigers had been removed from the temple.

A group of almost a dozen NGO’s from Thailand and authorities will coordinate to decide what the next step for the tigers will be, says WFFT.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.