Film & TV1 min(s) read
Published 09:36 11 Oct 2020 GMT
The Tiger King docuseries catapulted a number of faces that weren't Joe Exotic to fame, including Doc Antle, who is a wildlife park operator and big cat owner.
Antle is now hitting the headlines because he has been charged with wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty.
He featured in the documentary alongside other big cat owners and showed off some of the vast collection of animals he housed at Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina.
Attorney General Mark Herring said that the charges were the result of a months-long investigation from the Animal Unit, which began prior to the release of the hit docuseries, into the sale and transportation of animals between Antle and Keith Wilson - the owner of Wilson's Wild Animal Park in Winchester, Virginia.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is the trailer for Tige King:
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A public statement about the charges states that Antle has been "charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty."
Wilson has been "charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty."
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Similar charges are also facing Antle's daughters, and his daughter Tawny Antle has been "charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals and one misdemeanor count of violating the Endangered Species Act."
Not only this but Tilakum Watterson has been "charged with two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act."
Under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to sell lions.
Court documents cited by the Daily Mail read: "On or about July 24 or 25, 2019 Bhagavan Antle did unlawfully conspire with Keith Wilson to take within the Commonwealth any fish or wildlife (to wit: one female lion) appearing on any list of threatened or endangered species..."
This comes after it was reported back in April that Antle was sleeping with "sleeping with AK-47 after getting death threats" following the initial release of the show.
