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Joe Exotic, the subject of the hit documentary Tiger King, reportedly attempted to give a home to 28 grey wolves at his zoo in Oklahoma.
That’s according to a report by TMZ, which has published quotes by an Animal Legal Defence Fund (ALDF) lawyer who in 2018 ordered Exotic to release the animals to a rescue centre after claiming the zoo owner violated the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Christopher Berry, the attorney behind the lawsuit, told the publication that he sent a letter to Exotic in which he accused him of transporting the wolves he bought from a Minnesota petting zoo to his facility. It is against federal law to transport protected animals across state lines without a permit.
The lawyer also accused Exotic of trying to sell protected animals, highlighting the fact that the commercial sale of a protected animal also violates federal law. Additionally, Berry alleged that Exotic tried to sell at least four wolf puppies on social media.
The wolves Exotic bought proved to cause difficulties for him, Berry added, because they often clawed out of their enclosures and ran around in the Netflix star’s G.W. Exotic Animal Park.
Eventually, the wolves were given to Lockwood Animal Rescue Center in Ventura, CA. After complying with Berry’s letter, TMZ said the ALDF took no further legal action against Exotic.
Berry claimed further that only 25 of the 28 wolves at Exotic’s facility were transferred to Lockwood. It is reported that Exotic denies breaking any laws in this instance.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage (né Schreibvogel), is currently serving a 22-year sentence after being found guilty of paying a hit man $3,000 (£2,422) to unsuccessfully kill Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist whom he’d accused of trying to derail his private zoo business. He is also serving time for 17 other wildlife-related charges. He is yet to respond to the new claims.
In other news Tiger King has racked up five billion minutes in streams, according to new data by Nielsen.
The seven-part documentary series follows a number of big cat owners, breeders and conservationists in the US, focusing mainly on a feud between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.
Topping Nielsen’s SVOD content ratings (which currently includes Netflix and Amazon Prime) for the final week of March, Tiger King has racked up more streaming minutes in its first full week of release than any other show.
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