“Tiger King” star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle was arrested by the FBI and anticipated to seem in court docket Monday to face federal money laundering charges, an individual aware of the matter informed The Associated Press.
Federal brokers arrested the controversial wild animal coach Friday, and he has been in custody on the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, South Carolina all through the weekend.
Antle, the proprietor of the Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina, is featured prominently in “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” a 2020 Netflix documentary miniseries that targeted on tiger breeders and personal zoo operators within the U.S. The collection targeted closely on Oklahoma zoo operator Joe Exotic, who additionally was focused for animal mistreatment and was convicted in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin.
The charges in opposition to Antle, 62, have been anticipated to be formally introduced throughout a court docket continuing Monday afternoon in Florence, South Carolina. The charges relate to allegations of money laundering, an individual aware of the matter informed the AP on Saturday. The individual couldn’t focus on the matter publicly and spoke to AP on situation of anonymity.
In May, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals requested the IRS to probe Antle’s Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit elevating money for wildlife conservation. PETA alleges he makes use of among the fund’s money to subsidize his safari website in Socastee outdoors Myrtle Beach.
“It’s becoming that “Doc” Antle is behind bars after years of locking up the endangered animals he makes use of in tawdry photograph ops. His authorized woes are mounting, as PETA lately blew the whistle on his obvious ‘charity’ rip-off, and the tip to his reign of terrorizing tiger cubs can’t come quickly sufficient,” stated Debbie Metzler, affiliate director of PETA’s Captive Animal Law Enforcement division, in a press release.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, Antle is going through two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to wildlife trafficking charges, in addition to 13 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and animal cruelty charges tied to trafficking lion cubs. Those charges are scheduled to go to trial subsequent month.
Antle has a historical past of recorded violations, going way back to 1989, when he was fined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Virginia. Over the years, he has greater than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals.
