“Breeding Machine”
Humanity Versus Nature, Laureat
Elderly Indochinese tigress on a tiger farm, Thailand, 2023
An elderly Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) rests her fragile body against the concrete wall of her enclosure on a tiger farm in northern Thailand. For over 20 years, she was trapped inside this cage and used as a breeding machine, producing cubs for industries ranging from tiger tourism to the illegal trade in tiger skins, teeth, bones, claws, and meat. Tiger farms are rarely, if ever, accessible to photojournalists. But in December 2023, I joined veterinary teams and wildlife experts from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) and government officials on a groundbreaking mission to rescue some of the big cats – twelve tigers and three leopards – from the facility. This tiger, later named Salamas, was among those rescued. Despite her frail and emaciated condition, Salamas survived the 12-hour journey to WFFT’s 90-acre forested sanctuary. There, she roamed freely, feeling grass beneath her paws and the warmth of the sun on her fur for the first time in two decades. Tragically, nine months later, Salamas passed away. Years of forced breeding had left her reproductive organs irreparably damaged, and she succumbed to a terminal cancerous mass. The demand for tiger tourism experiences and products has led to an estimated 1,700 tigers being held in factory-style tiger farms across Thailand. Meanwhile, fewer than 223 tigers remain in the wild within the country.
Credit: Amy Jones / Environmental Photography Awards