Federal authorities have seized 68 big cats from an animal park in Oklahoma that was featured in last year’s wildly popular Netflix true-crime series “Tiger King.”
The raid on Tiger King Park in Thackerville, in which dozens of federally protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids and a jaguar were impounded, was part of a court-approved agreement to resolve a federal civil complaint against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe over the animals’ care, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Jeffrey Lowe, a central figure on the TV show, took over the animal park for the former operator Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison in Texas for plotting the murder of his co-star Carole Baskin, a Florida animal rights activist.
The federal complaint, filed in November, accused the Lowes of ongoing inhumane treatment and improper handling of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The couple has received numerous citations for failing to properly care for the animals following three inspections since December 2020.
During a hearing last week, a judge found the couple in contempt for failing to comply with court orders to employ a qualified veterinarian and establish a care program for the animals.
Daniel Card, an attorney for the couple, told a federal judge that the Lowes “want out completely.”
“They don’t want to fight this anymore. They don’t want to do it,” Card told the judge.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas McQuaid said in a statement that the DOJ is working to ensure the animals are sent to “responsible animal preserves where they can be safely maintained rather than exploited.”
The mullet-wearing zookeeper Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, became a cultural phenomenon last year after the March debut of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” — a documentary rife with dysfunction and corruption among a cast of unsavory characters.
The series explores the esoteric world of big cat collectors and their ongoing rivalry with animal conservationists.
The retaliatory feud that erupted between Exotic and Baskin is what ultimately led to Exotic’s conviction for trying to hire a hitman to kill the owner of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida.
The series was viewed by more than 34 million people during its first 10 days of release, according to Nielsen ratings.
Since the end of the show, an independent investigation has been launched into the 1997 disappearance of Don Lewis, a big cat animal sanctuary owner from Florida who was declared legally dead in 2002 while he was still married to Baskin.
The couple met in 1981 and co-owned the sanctuary Wildlife on Easy Street in Tampa, Florida. The business was later renamed Big Cat Rescue, which Baskin still runs today.
Information provided by The Associated Press was used to supplement this report.
About the Author
