The temple where the #tigers are as tame as tabbies (but they just had a headcount and some have gone missing)

• Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua - 'Tiger Temple' - has long been a hit with tourists
• They flock there to visit the Buddhist monks and their huge feline pets 
• However, a vet recently alerted officials to three tigers being missing 

By Afp and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline

Published:  24 April 2015

An urgent headcount has taken place at a Thai temple that's home to 147 tigers in the care of monks after a vet complained to authorities that three were missing.

Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua in Thailand's western Kanchanaburi province - commonly known as 'The Tiger Temple' - has long proved a hit among tourists who flock there to visit the monks and be photographed next to their huge feline pets.

However, Thai wildlife officials began a headcount on Friday after allegations from a temple vet earlier this week who complained to police that three tigers had recently disappeared from the sanctuary, sparking fears they may have been sold on.

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An urgent headcount has taken place at a Thai temple that's home to 147 tigers in the care of monks after a vet complained to authorities that three were missing

A Thai Buddhist Monk fends off a playful attack from an Asian Tiger at the Wat Pa Luangtabua temple

A Buddhist monk plays with a tiger at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua

Abbot Phra Bhusit Khantitaro of the Tiger Temple with one of many tigers taken-in and raised there

A Buddhist monk walks near three resting tigers at the Tiger Temple

The tigers were led out in groups of four and tied to a tree to allow officials to scan their microchips

Cooling down: A Buddhist monk sprays water onto a baby tiger at The Tiger Temple in Thailand

Volunteers walk with a tiger on a leash during a head count at Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua

The authorities say the temple has been keeping the animals without the proper paperwork and have vowed to seize them, sparking standoffs in recent weeks between officials and angry monks blocking their way.

Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said earlier this week it planned to take the animals away on Friday. But when officials arrived at the temple Friday morning they contented themselves with counting the tigers, most of whom are microchipped, to ascertain how many there are in the sanctuary.

A tiger has his chip implant read by Tiger Temple personnel during the head count

Affection: A Buddhist monk plays with two of the tigers at the temple

A Buddhist monk relaxes as a tiger prowls around the grounds

'We have come to check and scan the tigers to see whether the numbers match what we have or not,' DNP official Somsak Poopet told AFP, adding his department said they had been told there should be 147 tigers at the temple.

Asked whether the department would consider seizing the animals he replied: 'We have that idea but in our actions so far it has not reached that process yet.' Unlike previous visits, the monks did not object to officials entering the sanctuary, an AFP photographer on the scene said.

The tigers were led out in groups of four and tied to a tree to allow officials to scan their microchips. 

Of the said 147 tigers, less than half were brought out to have their chips read

'The Tiger Temple' in western Thailand has long proved a hit among tourists who flock there to be photographed next to the monks and their huge feline pets

A warden hugs a tiger at The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, western Thailand

Thai wildlife officials have been threatening to seize the 147 tigers being kept by monks at The Tiger Temple

Local animal rights groups have accused the temple of failing to properly look after the tigers. In February, wildlife officials said they conducted a raid and discovered dozens of hornbills, jackals and Asian bears that were being kept at the sanctuary without the correct permits. 'I think a lot of the people here are very motivated, I think they really love the animals, but they're doing it absolutely the wrong way,' Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, which has campaigned to have the tigers removed, told AFP. 'Wildlife management, whether that's in the wild or captivity, comes with a lot of knowledge, a lot of rules, a lot of dos and don'ts. And walking around with adult tigers like this, that could snap their mood at any time, is an accident waiting to happen,' he added.

Temple authorities were unavailable for comment Friday. But they insist they are a genuine conservation project and have previously denied allegations that they have failed to look after the animals or illegally traffic in them.

Tigers play in their enclosure before having their chip implants read

A tiger rests on the ground as another in the background has his chip implant read

Tiger Temple personnel walk tigers back to their enclosure after they had their chip implants read

Walkies! A monk takes one of the tame tigers for a stroll in the dusty grounds of the temple 

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