Feds Seize 68 Lions, Tigers And Other Big Cats From Tiger King Park In Oklahoma

[Coventina]

Federal agents have seized 68 lions, tigers and other big cats from the Oklahoma couple who took over an animal park featured in the Netflix documentary series Tiger King.

The Justice Department said Thursday that a jaguar and lion-tiger hybrids were also among the animals that authorities recovered from the Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Okla., over three days this month.

The park is owned by Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe, who appeared in the popular Tiger King documentary, which starred a big-cat collector and eccentric named Joe Exotic. Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme and of federal wildlife violations.


The Lowes, meanwhile, were sued by the Justice Department in November for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act. The couple is accused of exhibiting the animals at Tiger King Park without a license and of failing to provide adequate care for them.

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/998651938/feds-seize-68-lions-tigers-and-other-big-cats-from-tiger-king-park-in-oklahoma

I hope these beautiful creatures will find a good forever home at a qualified sanctuary.

[Ilsa]

1. I never watched TK. I didn't want to give them

any attention to exploit for money.

[Coventina]

2. Same here. Never watched, had *zero* desire to do so. n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Give them to Carol Baskin

Honestly, she took good care of the animals she was in charge of.

[Coventina]

4. 68 additions all at once is a pretty big lift for any single organization.

They will probably have to go to a number of different places.

But I agree about Carol Baskin, her sanctuary is very highly rated.

I never saw Tiger King, so I don't know of any of the controversy around her. All I know is that it never apparently has affected any of the cats in her care.

[SoCalNative]

5. Guessing that some

will go to Carol's BIG CAT RESCUE, some may go to Tippi Hedren's SHAMBALA, probably one or 2 other places as well.

[SoonerPride]

7. She fed her first husband to tigers.

She is as looney as Joe Exotic.

Really.

Turn the animals over to licensed professional zoos.

No private ownership of large cats. Period.

[Coventina]

8. And you know this, how? n/t

[WhiteTara]

6. I'll bet some of those cats will come to the

big cat rescue preserve in NW Arkansas. Turpentine Creek Cat Rescue.

[BootinUp]

9. That's quite a lot of big cats. Nt