A starved tiger that was reduced to skin and bone is among 53 big cats set to ‘feel grass on their paws for the first time’ after they were rescued from a Thai breeding farm.
Harrowing pictures show Salamas with patches of fur missing from her skeletal frame as she lays exhausted and emaciated on the dirty concrete
The emaciated female tiger Salamas was found struggling to stand or walk after losing so much weight inside a cage at a rundown facility in Mukdahan, northern Thailand
Harrowing pictures show Salamas with patches of fur missing from her skeletal frame
Salamas is among 53 tigers and leopards who were rescued from the breeding farm facing bankruptcy and prosecution over alleged illegal wildlife trading by vets and experts from the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)
The big cats, who have spent their lives in captivity, will now enjoy ‘sunlight and grass for the first time’ at a sprawling woodland sanctuary around 550 miles away in the south of the country
The emaciated female tiger Salamas was found struggling to stand or walk after losing so much weight inside a cage at a rundown facility in Mukdahan, northern Thailand
A vet tranquilises a tiger at the rundown facility in Thailand
A sedated tiger is carried out of their cage by the vets and wildlife experts
A sedated tiger is carried out of their cage by the vets and wildlife experts
Officials said 35 tigers and 18 leopards in total will be rescued from the farm, with the first 15 chosen based on urgent medical needs
Wildlife experts carry a tiger in a crate before loading it onto a truck bound for the wildlife sanctuary
Wildlife experts load a tiger onto a truck bound for the wildlife sanctuary
Wiek said: ‘This was an incredible rescue. It’s the biggest by any NGO in Thailand. The tigers, leopards and other animals will finally see freedom for the first times in their lives.
The big cats, who have spent their lives in captivity, will now enjoy ‘sunlight and grass for the first time’ at a sprawling woodland sanctuary around 550 miles away in the south of the country
Officials said 35 tigers and 18 leopards in total will be rescued from the farm, with the first 15 chosen based on urgent medical needs
Officials said 35 tigers and 18 leopards in total will be rescued from the farm, with the first 15 chosen based on urgent medical needs
The notorious tiger farm has been the subject of prolonged legal disputes with government wildlife officials.