Tiger tourism still thriving in Thailand amid captive breeding

Bangkok

THAILAND's tiger tourism business is booming and the captive tiger population is growing fast, animal rights activists say, more than two months after Thai wildlife authorities found scores of dead cubs while rescuing animals from the popular Tiger Temple.

Animal rights activists called on tourists to shun Thai animal attractions, which they say are cruel and should be shut down, after the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, closed in June.

Thai wildlife authorities vowed to inspect other tiger attractions, and confiscated 24 tigers from two venues, but the scrutiny has been short-lived. "On the ground, nothing has changed," said Jan Schmidt- Burbach, a Bangkok-based wildlife adviser for the World Animal Protection NGO. "The Tiger Temple case has brought attention to the topic but is unfortunately …