Tiger King star loses ownership of zoo

Joseph "Joe Exotic" Maldonado-Passage with one of his tigers in an undated file photo.
Joseph "Joe Exotic" Maldonado-Passage with one of his tigers in an undated file photo. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

NEW YORK • The star of hit Netflix series Tiger King will have to hand over the ownership of his famous zoo to the nemesis he tried to have murdered, a court has ruled.

Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is in jail after he was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January for the attempted murder of Ms Carole Baskin.

His feud with the animal-sanctuary owner captivated millions in the Netflix documentary that became a sensation when it was released in March as the United States went into coronavirus lockdown.

Ms Baskin had for years accused Exotic of abusing the animals, including tigers, in his park.

He said Ms Baskin was trying to destroy his business and their dispute ended up in a years-long legal battle.

On Monday, a judge in Oklahoma ruled that the ownership of Exotic's 6.5ha land in the state must be transferred to Ms Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida.

The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park will have to vacate the premises, "including removal of all zoo animals", Judge Scott Palk said in the decision.

In 2013, a Florida court ordered Exotic to pay Ms Baskin US$1 million because his company had used logos and images similar to those of Big Cat Rescue.

Exotic tried to evade payment by shielding his assets, leading to this second lawsuit, with the judge ruling in Ms Baskin's favour.

Tiger King, a seven-part documentary, was one of Netflix's most-watched shows.

The platform announced in late April that in one month, 64 million subscribers had seen all or part of the series.

Exotic, 57, has requested a pardon from US President Donald Trump.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 04, 2020, with the headline Tiger King star loses ownership of zoo. Subscribe