Entertainment

Tiger King star Doc Antle sentenced, banned from exotic animal dealing

Antle was convicted of illegally purchasing endangered lion cubs in Virginia for display and profit at his South Carolina zoo.

Bhagavan Antle, more commonly known as "Doc Antle."
Scripps News Richmond
SMS

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. 

New law will shake up the exotic animal industry in the US
New law will shake up the exotic animal industry in the US

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 MORE

"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