The zoo featured in the Netflix phenomenon Tiger King closes permanently to the public on Tuesday after its federal license for animal shows was revoked.
The current owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, Jeffrey Lowe, announced the closure in a Facebook post, blaming ‘the pressure’ of charity on animal rights PETA and its ‘spies’.
Lowe, who also starred in the series, took over the park after its original owner, Joe Exotic, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for hiring a hitman to murder animal rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as numerous prosecutors for animal cruelty.
“The Tiger King phenomenon has definitely changed our lives in many ways,” Lowe said in a statement. ‘It has brought us more attention than any human deserves, good and bad. It has, and probably will, continue to make us a target of every nutjob and animal rights longevity in the world, but we are ready.
‘It has also provided us with an unattainable source of income. Income that will guarantee the long-term care of our animals and enable us to be very selective in the future. ‘
Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma will close its doors to the public immediately, a statement read Tuesday
Owner Jeff Lowe (above), who was standing in Tiger King, accused PETA of ‘spying’ for the closure
The report from a USDA inspection at Wynnwood found multiple animal welfare violations, including multiple repeated violations.
During the incursions, inspectors found that the only cool storage area for pet food was a broken refrigerator, which zoo officials claimed he had recently fixed.
‘The inspectors requested the invoices for the repairs and received an invoice for a tractor repair,’ the report says.
Lowe claimed that the USDA accused him of a ‘litany of counterfeits’. He said the agency revoked his license – allowing him to buy and sell animals – the day after he contacted them, and expressed his desire to lock it up.
The controversial figure blamed animal rights groups for the decision, citing its persistent harassment by the USDA.
‘The heinous agency that has provided my facility with five consecutive perfect inspections has now complied with PETA’s pressure and continues to make false accusations against me,’ Lowe continued.
The report from a USDA inspection at Wynnwood found multiple violations of animal welfare, including multiple recurring damages.
“That, thanks to all the people who have visited the Wynnewood Zoo over the years!” Lowe wrote. ‘We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts’
While the public will no longer have access to the privately owned zoo, Lowe told fans to rest assured ‘that all animals will continue to be provided with excellent care’ and the park will continue to operate, in a new capacity.
“Our new park will, at least in the foreseeable future, become a private movie set for Tiger King-related television content for cable and streaming services,” Lowe said. “This was in fact a decision we made more than a month ago and it was huge news that we spoke on Facebook a few weeks ago.”
It was reported this week that Netflix had secured all the rights to a second season of Tiger King. Thanks to the show’s popularity, there are also a number of spin-offs underway, including an eight-part series starring Nicolas Cage.
Lowe added that closing the park will also mean the animals ‘will no longer be subject to USDA inspections or PETA spies’.
“That, thanks to all the people who have visited the Wynnewood Zoo over the years!” he went on. ‘We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. ‘
Lowe, who was also in the series, took over the park after its original owner, Joe Exotic (right), was sentenced to 22 years in prison for hiring a hitman to murder animal rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as also various cost abuses
While the public has long been unable to access the privately owned zoo, Lowe told fans to rest assured ‘all animals will continue to be cared for’ and the park will continue to operate, in a new capacity
Lowe added that closing the park will also mean the animals ‘will no longer be subject to USDA inspections as PETA spies’.
Greater Wynnewood’s closure comes just over two months after a federal judge handed over the animal tour ordered to Carole Baskin as part of a $ 1 million trademark dispute.
That ruling gave Lowe and other park operators 120 days to empty the property and remove all of his animals.
Tiger King, who became a huge hit on Netflix in March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, tells the story of Joe Exotic, a flamboyant owner of polygamists at a private zoo in Oklahoma and his rivalry with self-proclaimed animal activist Carole Baskin .
Their feud even expanded to Exotic – real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage – with logos for its park that resemble those owned by Baskin and her company Big Cat Rescue.
Baskin filed Exotic for trademark infringement in 2011. The case ended two years later with the latter being ordered to pay Big Cat Rescue $ 1 million.
In 2016, Big Cat Rescue sued Exotic’s mother Shirley Schreibvogel, claiming he had fraudulently transferred his zoo to her to pay Baskin and other creditors.
U.S. District Judge Scott L Palk finally found that the transfer was made to ‘remove [the zoo] from the reach of Big Cat Rescue ‘, court documents show.
Joe Exotic was arrested in 2018 and sentenced the following year to 17 counts of animal cruelty and two counts of manslaughter, for a hit he took on Carole Baskin (right)
Tensions between the pair continued to escalate. Maldonado Passage was arrested in 2019 and convicted of 17 counts of animal cruelty and two counts of murder for hair.
He was convicted by a federal jury of hiring one of his colleagues for $ 3,000 to travel to Florida to assassinate his big cat devil, Baskin, in November 2017. Exotic promised to pay the man more after she died.
When the colleague failed to proceed with the act, Exotic met another potential killer the following month who turned out to be an under FBI agent.
While Exotic continues to protest his innocence, during the Netflix documentary series, the 57-year-old was repeatedly made threats to assassinate Baskin during his daily webcast, in which he used the phrase ‘That b **** Carole Baskin’ made up. ‘
Exotic also made a number of allegations that Baskin murdered her ex-husband, Don Lewis, who disappeared without a trace in August 1997. Exotic claimed that Baskin had murdered Lewis and handed him over to her tigers – an accusation she denies.
The documentary series renewed interest in the cold case, but it has yet to be formally reopened by investigators.
Lewis has never been found, nor has any evidence to suggest he was killed, although authorities have previously said they do not believe he disappeared on his own.
Exotic also made a number of allegations that Baskin murdered her ex-husband, Don Lewis, who disappeared without a trace in August 1997. Exotic alleged that Baskin had murdered Lewis and handed him over to her tigers – an accusation she denies
However, two manuscript experts now believe that Lewis’ signatures on both documents were in fact forgeries.
Dailymail.com reported back in May that shortly after his disappearance, Baskin – his wife at the time and the last known person to see him alive – produced Lewis’ will and his power of attorney which gave her full control over his estate of $ 5 million.
But one of Lewis’ ex-lawyers, Joseph Fritz, said he now believes his client’s signature on both documents is in fact forgeries.
DailyMail.com was told ‘Sorry no comments’ when Carole Baskin approached with questions regarding the claims.
Baskin is now facing a lawsuit from Lewis’ surviving family members, who are also offering a $ 100k reward for any information about what happened to him.
They say they hope the lawsuit forces Baskin to give evidence on the record about what happened to Lewis.
Lewis disappeared a day before a planned trip to Costa Rica. Deputies found his van abandoned at a nearby airport.
Police did not find any signs of a fight or blood inside – nor did they find any evidence that Lewis ever left the country. Lewis was legally pronounced dead in 2002.
In 2004, Baskin refused to seek advice from her lawyer on a polygraph test related to the investigation.
Lewis’s disappearance became an important narrative thread in Tiger King. Baskin has slammed the show since ‘salacious and sensational’, and advised with ‘unsavory reads’.
The owner of Big Cat Rescue is reportedly asking for a fee of more than $ 1 million to appear in the second season of the show.
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