Yet another wrinkle has been added to the Tiger King story. Reports Law & Crime…
The popular Neflix series mainly chronicled the rise and fall of Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldanado-Passage as a result of his bitter rivalry with big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin. Another rival of Baskin’s who appeared in the show, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, now has some legal troubles of his own. Antle, Antle’s daughters Tawny Antle and Tilakam Watterson, and Keith Wilson—the owner of Wilson’s Wild Animal Park—have all been indicted by a grand jury in Frederick County, Virginia. You may remember Doc Antle as the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina. Depending on the Tiger King character describing him, Antle was renowned for his many “girlfriends” or “wives” or “partners.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s (D) office announced on Friday that Doc Antle was charged with 13 misdemeanors, and a felony count each for wildlife trafficking, conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking; nine misdemeanor counts were for animal cruelty and four other were for an alleged conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act.
Herring’s office alleged that Antle and “roadside zoo” owner Keith Wilson conspired to commit lion cub trafficking “between Virginia and South Carolina.” Antle’s daughters were each charged for alleged animal cruelty and violations of the Endangered Species Act, and Tilakum Watterson has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
