The Netflix docu-series ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’ wowed audiences at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, the Oklahoma based zoo that the series is based on is closing down.
On Monday, the US Department of Agriculture suspended the exhibitor license of the Greater Wynnewood Zoo and owner Jeff Lowe. The USDA exhibitor license allowed Lowe to buy and sell animals.
The zoo was taken over by Lowe from former owner Joe Exotic, aka 'Tiger King'. Exotic is currently serving a 22-year sentence for the attempt of murder for hire of Carole Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue.
After the suspension, in a now-deleted Facebook post on Tuesday, Lowe announced the zoo would be closing their doors "effective immediately".
"The Tiger King phenomenon has definitely changed our lives in many ways," Lowe said in his post.
"It has brought us more attention than any human deserves, good and bad.
"It has, and probably will continue to make us a target of every nutjob and animal rights loon in the world, but we are prepared."
On June 1, a US federal judge ruled the zoo be handed over to Carol Baskin after she won a trademark dispute worth $USD 1 million. In the aftermath, Lowe was ordered to remove all the exotic animals and vacate the premises within 120 days, which would have fallen next month, on September 29.
Lowe said in the post, they have begun plans for their new park which will operate in the "foreseeable future" as a "private film set for Tiger King related television content."
He also made allegations the USDA folded under the pressure of animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as well as announcing he voluntarily forfeited his license.
"Suspiciously, less than 24 hours after I contacted the USDA to voluntarily forfeit my license, they notify me that they are suspending my license for 21 days for a litany of falsehoods," he said.
Despite losing the license Lowe believes he's well within his rights under the Oklahoma state law to maintain ownership of his exotic animals.
