“Tiger King” star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is going to prison after admitting he broke federal law buying endangered animals to keep at his zoo in South Carolina.
Antle, 65, was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars and fined $55,000 on Tuesday, nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to trafficking in exotic animals and money laundering. He also had to forfeit three chimpanzees and more than $197,000 to the government. He entered his plea in November 2023.
“Doc Antle portrayed himself as a conservationist. But in reality, he was a key player in the illegal chimpanzee trade, and he laundered more than half a million dollars through a complex web of deceit,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina in a statement.
It was likely the end to the legal dramas that surrounded “Tiger King,” the Netflix true crime documentary that captivated a country shut down by COVID-19.
The star, Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, is currently incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth, serving a 21-year federal prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill the other star, Carole Baskin. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was a collector and private zookeeper from Oklahoma and Baskin, runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida.
Antle appeared in the first season with Exotic and Baskin and was the star of the show’s third season.
Antle’s crimes were unrelated. He laundered money used in a human smuggling scheme because he needed large amounts of cash quickly to buy animals like chimpanzees, lions, tigers, cheetahs and other creatures, Prosecutor Patrick Duggan said. These animals are illegal to sell because they are endangered, and their high prices could encourage poachers to steal them from the wild, Duggan explained.
“He was knowingly and illegally trading them as part of a black market that drives another black market of poaching and smuggling,” Duggan said in court Tuesday.
Antle’s lawyers requested a sentence of just probation or home confinement, saying their client needed to care for the 150 exotic animals that consume 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of meat a day at his Myrtle Beach Safari, a 50-acre for-profit zoo that offers tours and private encounters with exotic wildlife. The website offers wild encounters day tours starting at $389 per person.
His attorneys said many of the animals only respond to Antle.
About 25 friends and family packed a federal courtroom in Charleston. Several told Judge Joseph Dawson III that Antle was generous and caring. They said he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poaching and preserve wild habitats for tigers, lions and chimpanzees.
The judge was swayed. Federal guidelines called for about two years in prison, to which prosecutors agreed. But Dawson said, although Antle broke federal law, all the evidence pointed to him caring for animals.
Antle apologized at the end of his sentencing hearing for causing problems for his life’s work.
“I made a mistake, I did stupid things,” Antle said, adding, “I hope I’ll be able to pull it back together for everybody.”
Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari was known for charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people pet and hold baby animals like lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young they were still being bottle-fed. Customers would pay $200 for five minutes and photos with a baby chimp or $7,000 for a sleepover. Antle would sometimes ride into tours on an elephant.
The zoo remains open by reservation only.
Prosecutors said Antle sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork for a decade. They said he also laundered more than $500,000 so he could quickly get cash to buy more animals.
Antle knows federal law well and was able to avoid prosecution for years, prosecutors said. He would accept a large “donation” for an animal to his conservation foundation. He headed the Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit organization registered in South Carolina. He would claim to keep the animal in the same state he bought it, but then move it to his Myrtle Beach zoo, prosecutors said.
The FBI was listening to Antle’s phone calls with an informant as he explained a baby chimpanzee could easily cost $200,000. Private zookeepers can charge hundreds of dollars for photos with docile young primates or other animals, but the profit window is only open for a few years before the growing animals can no longer be safely handled.
“I had to get a monkey, but the people won’t take a check. They only take cash. So what do you do?” Antle said according to a transcript of the phone call in court papers.
Antle will have to give up three chimpanzees he bought as part of his plea deal.
Two of Antle’s employees have already been sentenced for their roles in his schemes.
Meredith Bybee was given a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee, while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who prosecutors said helped Antle launder money, was given two years of probation.
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