11/22/2023 0 Comments Tim stark now![]() Then last November, the Department of Justice sued Lowe, his wife Lauren, and their businesses for allegedly violating animal welfare laws and the Endangered Species Act. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for “grave” abuse and neglect. In August 2020, Exotic’s former business partner, Jeff Lowe, had his license to exhibit wildlife suspended by the U.S. He was convicted in 2019 of attempted murder-for-hire of big cat sanctuary owner Carole Baskin of killing five tigers that were poor breeders and of charges related to animal trafficking. The Tiger King himself, who once ran the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, is currently serving 22 years in prison. Though they became eccentric cult figures to some viewers, others were shocked by what they saw: One clip showed a newborn tiger, still wet, dragged from its mother using a metal hook. The series featured Joseph Maldonado-Passage-better known as Joe Exotic-and other big cat owners. The strange drama portrayed in Tiger King put the tiger tourism industry on the radar, with 34 million viewers in the first 10 days after its release in March 2020. The recent tide of legal action may be changing that. In the U.S., lax regulation has enabled the exploitation, suffering, and illegal trade of thousands of endangered big cats. Trafficking in tiger bones and other body parts from captive facilities in China, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Asia fuels a lucrative black-market trade that is pushing wild tigers toward extinction. Threats to the world’s tigers go beyond animal welfare in cub-petting facilities. than the 3,900 estimated to live in the wild across Asia. Experts say there are probably more in captivity in the U.S. Thousands of captive tigers live in the U.S., mostly in roadside zoos like Stark’s. These civil and criminal court cases have the potential to overhaul the industry, says Brittany Peet, deputy general counsel at the nonprofit advocacy group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). ![]() tiger trade puts both people and animals at risk.) Lawsuits and prosecutions cite unsafe, unclean housing poor nutrition little or no veterinary care illegally buying, selling, and shipping endangered species nationwide and soliciting donations that allegedly benefit for-profit businesses. Now, a spate of court cases is challenging the legality of some standard practices, including pulling newborn cubs from their mothers and allowing tourists to cuddle, bottle-feed, and snap selfies with them. with proper licenses, Tiger King shined a spotlight on questionable conditions in a lucrative and lightly regulated industry. While it’s legal to breed and exhibit big cats in the U.S. Many of the largest breeders and cub-petting attractions in the United States are also facing lawsuits or criminal charges. Stark isn’t the only big cat owner from Tiger King embroiled in legal trouble. Three weeks later, he was arrested at a bed-and-breakfast in upstate New York and extradited to Indiana, where he faced a contempt charge in one county and a felony charge of intimidating a law enforcement officer in another. “I am willing to die for what I believe in,” he said. ![]() Taunting law enforcement, he brandished what appeared to be a hand grenade. He claimed they’d conspired to deny him his right to own and breed exotic animals. On the run, Stark railed against judges, officials, and animal rights activists in an hour-long, profanity-laced Facebook Live rant. Stark’s zoo, Wildlife in Need, which raked in millions with its baby tiger “playtime” sessions, had collapsed. He faced an arrest warrant for allegedly concealing animals set to be confiscated. He and his zoo owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for animal welfare violations. His lions, tigers, bears, and dozens of other animals were being seized by authorities. The zoo owner, who appeared in the hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King, was losing his livelihood. When Tim Stark fled Indiana in September, his life was crashing around him.
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