'Tiger King' Roadsize Zoo Raided; Nearly 70 Big Cats Seized

THACKERVILLE, OK — Nearly 70 big cats at the center of the “Tiger King” true-crime series on Netflix were seized from a roadside zoo in Thackerville, Oklahoma, for violations of the Endangered Species Act, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The seizure of 68 protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids and a jaguar stems from three USDA inspections starting in December at Tiger King Park operated by Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe. The Justice Department is seeking a civil forfeiture of the cats and any of their offspring.

The USDA cited the Lowes for failing to provide adequate and timely veterinary care, appropriate diets and shelter that protects them from bad weather and is big enough to allow them to engage in normal behavior. The couple were recently found to be in contempt of months of noncompliance with court orders requiring with court orders requiring them to hire qualified veterinarians and provide care for the cats that meets Animal Welfare Act standards.

The cats were featured Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” which explores Jeff Lowe’s purchase of the zoo from Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for a murder-for-hire plot to kill nationally known animal rights activist Carole Baskin, the founder of the Big Cat Sanctuary in Citrus Park, Florida.

The case against the Lowes brings more attention to the problem of private ownership of endangered species and the cub-petting industry, in which young cats are taken from their mothers when they are just hours or days old so members of the public can pay to have their photos taken while petting them.

Once the cats reach 8 or 12 weeks old, they’re too big for cuddling and are either killed, sold into the pet industry or sold to roadside zoos. Big cat welfare activists say they’re often underfed so they remain small and bring in money longer for their owners.

Animal-rights activists say the profitable cub-petting industry is a primary driver of surplus tigers in the exotic pet trade, where they’re subject to trauma and abuse.

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The Oklahoman reported last week the Lowes are ready to surrender the big cats to resolve the Justice Department civil complaint against them. The government had asked a federal judge in November to order the Lowes to relinquish the big cats and other animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.

“The Lowes want out completely,” their attorney, Daniel Card, told a federal judge at the May 12 contempt hearing.

"We had this discussion this morning. They don't want to fight this anymore. They don't want to do it," he said. "They want to give the tigers to a ... sanctuary of their choice and be done with it."

Acting Assistant General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a news release the seizure of the 68 “endangered and allegedly abused lions, tigers and a jaguar shows how effective civil forfeiture can be when utilized in conjunction with statutes like the Endangered Species Act.”

“We are proud to have partnered with the Environment and Natural Resources Division to protect these amazing animals, and will work to ensure that they go to responsible animal preserves where they can be safely maintained rather than exploited,” he said.

There may be more cats at Tiger King Park than the government is aware of, according to an affidavit filed in the case. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Kevin L. Seiler noted in the affidavit that conditions at the zoo had declined since a February inspection, and that inspectors saw several previously unaccounted for cubs and juvenile cats that are also subject to seizure.

Lowe testified in a January deposition that male and female cats, including breeding pairs, are sometimes housed together.

“In light of the number of female big cats housed with male big cats, including a number of known breeding pairs … it is likely that additional cubs have been born at the (zoo) that have not been observed by USDA and there soon will be additional cubs born at the (zoo),” Seiler wrote in the affidavit.

Lowe also testified that he “may have” housed four lion juveniles in his house last summer, and also he allowed at least one employee to take some cubs home with him to stay overnight in their house.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Big Cat Safety Act in December. It would make private ownership of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, or any hybrid of those species. Sanctuaries, universities and zoos would be exempt.

The bill would also make public petting, playing with, feeding and photo opportunities with cubs illegal

The legislation is currently before the Senate’s Committee on Environmentand Public Works.