'Tiger King' Zoo Shuts Down With Immediate Effect
The Oklahoma zoo made famous by the Netflix documentary has closed for good, following a damning USDA inspection, and mounting pressure from animal rights groups.
The controversial zoo at the center of the 'Tiger King' series on Netflix, has closed with immediate effect.
The decision to close G. W. Exotic Animal Park, formerly owned by Joe Exotic, comes after the park's animal license was suspended for 21 days by USDA.
The current owner, Jeff Lowe, has blamed the suspension on the animal rights group PETA, who are now celebrating the park's closure.
"PETA looks forward to seeing every one of the long-suffering animals at the G. W. Zoo be transferred to an appropriate facility where it won't take federal intervention for a sick cat to receive veterinary care", says Brittany Peet.
Last month, USDA carried out an unannounced inspection of the park, and catalogued numerous instances of animal abuse and neglect. In the report, government officials found rotting tiger corpses, emaciated and neurotic grizzly bears, and lethargic lion cubs that had been denied veterinary care.
In a Facebook post, Lowe claimed that USDA "has now folded to the pressures of PETA and continues to make false allegations against me".
Lowe has been embroiled in a legal dispute with PETA since 2013, for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, and in July, a Southern Indiana court ruled in favor of the charity, ordering that Lowe release medical documents relating to four of his lions.
The ownership of the park is due to be transferred to Carole Baskin, who runs an animal sanctuary in Florida, and who was the intended target of a murder-for-hire plot by the park's former owner, Joe Exotic.
Meanwhile Lowe, the former business partner of the imprisoned Joe Exotic, says that he is building a new zoo in Thackerville, Oklahoma, which will be "a private film set for Tiger King related television content for cable and streaming services".
Whilst there are twenty-one states that prohibit the keeping of dangerous exotic pets such as big cats, there is currently no U.S. federal law concerning big cat ownership.
However, campaigners are currently trying to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act, a legislation which seeks to protect these captive animals by outlawing direct contact between the public and big cats.
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