New law will shake up the exotic animal industry in the US
The Big Cat Public Safety Act has put an end to would-be "Tiger Kings" nationwide and changed the private ownership industry for exotic animals.
LEARN MOREPosted: 4:24 p.m. EDT Oct 3, 2023
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that Bhagavan Antle, more commonly known as "Doc Antle," from the Netflix series Tiger King, was sentenced in Frederick County, Virginia, on Tuesday.
Antle was convicted of illegally purchasing endangered lion cubs there for display and profit at his South Carolina zoo.
Antle was prosecuted and convicted of two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to traffic wildlife in June, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
A judge upheld the jury's guilty verdict, and sentenced Antle to two years with time suspended for each charge, to run concurrently.
The Attorney General's Office says Antle is required to pay the maximum of $2,500 per conviction, totaling a $10,000 fine.
"Today concludes a multi-year investigation and prosecution by my office. In Virginia, we uphold the rule of law without exception, whether dealing with violent repeat offenders, big pharma, fraudsters and scammers, or wildlife traffickers," said Miyares. "This case sends a clear message that bad actors will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth."
Antle is not allowed to work, own, possess, broker, buy, sell, trade, transfer, barter or donate any exotic animals in Virginia for five years, according to the Attorney General's Office.
This story was originally published by Heather Eckstine at Scripps News Richmond.
