Jeff Lowe, the present owner of Tiger King Park, announced the decision to close its doors on Facebook, citing animal rights organisation PETA as the reason.
Lowe is the former business partner of Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against big cat sanctuary owner Carol Baskin. And despite his protestations of love for his animals, Exotic was also jailed for animal abuse.
Earlier this year, the zoo was handed to Big Cat Rescue owner Carol Baskin after a judge ruled that Joe Exotic had fraudulently transferred ownership to his mother.
He had done this in an attempt to avoid paying a $1m civil judgment successfully brought against him by Baskin for trademark and copyright infringements. The ruling stipulated that the current operators had to be out in 120 days.
Baskin was one of the pivotable characters in the Netflix documentary series and the rivalry between herself, Joe Exotic and Jeff Lowe provided much of the content for the hit TV show.
In his post on social media Lowe said, "As of today, we have decided to close the old zoo effective immediately,” Due to the permanent closure of the Wynnewood Zoo, I’m forfeiting my USDA exhibitors license.”
"The Tiger King phenomenon has definitely changed our lives in many ways. 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 loon in the world, but we are prepared."
Lowe also indicated that the USDA “has now folded to the pressures of PETA and continue[s] to make false accusations against me.”
In a statement on their website, PETA said,” PETA applauds the USDA’s decision and urges it to pursue permanent license revocation. We look forward to seeing every one of the long-suffering animals at the G.W. Zoo transferred to an appropriate facility where it won’t take federal intervention for a sick cat to receive veterinary care”.
There is still apparently a lot more to tell about Tiger King Park, an eight-part series starring Oscar-winning actor Nicholas Cage in the role of Joe Exotic is apparently already in the making.
