OMG: 40 Tiger Cubs Found Dead In Thai Temple!

The tiny tiger cubs found after authorities stormed the temple's secret stash were aged from birth to one week old

They were stored in the freezer where the temple kept the food for tigers, said Adisorn Nuchdamrong, deputy director-general of the wildlife department, who claimed the temple had never registered the dead cubs.

Some animal rights organisations have claimed the tigers appear sedated when interacting with tourists and have accused the temple of being a facade to cover illegal animal trafficking.

The raid that began on May 30 is the latest move in a tug-of-war since 2001 to bring the tigers under state control, which was being widely obstructed by the monks.

The temple promotes itself as a wildlife sanctuary, but in recent years it was investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and animal abuse. However, The temple has denied claims that the monks carry out irresponsible breeding programmes, traffic endangered species and sell the animals.

The Buddhist temple in the west of Bangkok had become a tourist destination where visitors snapped selfies with bottle-fed cubs.

Wildlife officials have begun removing some of the 137 tigers held at the Buddhist temple after accusations that their caretakers were involved in illegal breeding and trafficking of the animals, as well as neglected them. (Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand via AP)

The raid was launched following complaints that monks at the remote forest temple in Thailand were mistreating and trafficking the animals. But the monks have denied the allegations

The grisly discovery at the Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province on Wednesday morning came after a raid launched on Monday for relocation of 137 adult tigers of the temple by at least 1,000 personnel.

Thai authorities recovered two tiger skins on Thursday from inside a truck as it tried to leave a controversial temple, which used the big cats to attract tourists after more than 40 dead tiger cubs and a bear were found in the freezer of Thailand's Tiger Temple, which is being probed for wildlife trafficking on Wednesday, June 1