‘Tiger King’s’ Doc Antle Was Just Charged With Two Felonies
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As depicted in Netflix's new true crime docuseries Tiger King, Doc Antle’s safari park in Myrtle Beach (otherwise known as T.I.G.E.R.S—The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) served as the inspiration for Joe Exotic’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. At one point in the doc, Joe even refers to Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle, a.k.a. Doc Antle, as his mentor.
Now, Doc Antle may actually be following in Joe's footsteps. Antle has been charged with two felonies and multiple misdemeanors related to the Endangered Species Act and animal cruelty, per a press release from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. The T.I.G.E.R.S. raid in 2019 at the end of the documentary was just the beginning.
So... what exactly happened to Doc Antle, and where is he now?
Doc Antle called Tiger King a "salacious, outrageous ride."
On March 31, Doc went on TMX.news for a video interview, People reported. Doc slammed the Netflix series: “Remember, this is not a documentary. This is a salacious, outrageous ride through a television show produced to create drama, to just tie you in to some crazy train wreck of a story between the feud of Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic, and the meltdown that ensued between two people who both are far too close to murder themselves, and I think a little bit of madness thrown in on their parts.”
Doc Antle explained in the interview that he “worked with the director for two and a half years, saw him probably five or six times for several days in a row each time." Doc expected a much different documentary, focused on wildlife conservation, to air on Netflix. "It was all about how the tigers that we have here have raised so much money that we’ve been able to go to Sumatra and create a new ranger station there … and that was the documentary that I worked on, and all of that stuff somehow found its way to the cutting room floor,” he explained.
Needless to say, he is not happy with how he's portrayed in Tiger King.
In an Instagram post shared on March 26, Doc Antle wrote, "We are very disappointed that our facility was mentioned in the new Netflix series. We can only assume it is because Doc Antle has been such a high profile wildlife personality for so many decades that his association would create more buzz... Tiger King is the bizarre story of Joe and Carole [Baskin] and their feud. These characters are not representative of experts in the wildlife sector or world class facilities like ours here in Myrtle Beach."
He went on to describe how his facility "adheres to all USDA guidelines" and that his animals "are treated with utmost care."
His park closed temporarily amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 1, there was a coronavirus update added to the Myrtle Beach Safari's website announcing the temporary park closure. "We are currently closed, but are open for reservations for future dates. We will be ready for guests as soon as COVID-19 restrictions in Myrtle Beach are lifted." Anyone who needs to reschedule a tour can contact the facility via email or phone.
Doc Antle was previously not planning to close his wildlife park on account of the novel coronavirus. "Myrtle Beach Safari is not planning to cancel any tours. We are also following all CDC guidelines and taking all necessary health precautions," he said per a March 27 update on his website.
When Myrtle Beach hotels and recreation areas reopened, so did the wildlife park. They are allowing smaller tours, and the outdoor space allows for social distancing.
Nearly one year after filming, Doc Antle faces multiple criminal charges.
Authorities raided the safari park in December 2019, but he wasn't charged until now. On Oct. 9, 2020, Antle was charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, per a press release from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.
The indictments come after a months-long investigation by Attorney General Herring’s Animal Law Unit into the relationship between Doc and Keith Wilson, who also faces multiple charges, found that both men trafficked lion cubs between Virginia and South Carolina.
What's more, two of Doc’s daughters also face charges. Tawny Antle has been charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals and one misdemeanor count of violating the Endangered Species Act. Tilakum Watterson has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
He's faced plenty of criticism from PETA over the years.
Though Antle claims to treat his tigers substantially better than Joe did, PETA has criticized T.I.G.E.R.S for a long time.
In a statement on its website, the animal rights organization wrote, "Antle has a long history of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act, including by endangering the public and by failing to provide animals with needed veterinary care, sufficient cage space, and clean water."
Similar to Carole Baskin’s complaints against Joe, PETA also takes issue with Antle’s breeding practices, as well as his letting customers handle the wild animals.
Watch Doc Antle discuss the 2019 raid of his safari park in Myrtle Beach:
Doc Antle made his MTV debut with Britney Spears at the 2001 VMAs.
Doc was actually onstage with Brit back when she did her infamous "Slave 4 U" dance with a live snake on her shoulders. You know, that one that blew everyone away and is truly iconic. Twitter users unearthed the wild receipts.
Britney Spears before the VMAs.
With Doc Antle.
Goodbye. pic.twitter.com/CoqsoUmovB— Ben Yahr (@benyahr) March 30, 2020
Doc recently celebrated his 60th birthday with a liger.
A March 25th video post on Doc Antle's Instagram shows him feeding "one of my favorite big cats," a liger named Apollo. He is accompanied by one of his "partners," Moksha.
A post shared by Dr. Bhagavan Antle (@docantle) on Mar 25, 2020 at 5:22am PDT
Wait, what's the deal with Doc Antle's name?
The documentary claims that Doc Antle also chose to go by the name Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle. Every woman who worked for Antle was supposed to call him Bhagavan. According to Barbara Fischer, a former apprentice of Antle, Bhagavan means "lord." Antle, however, claims the name means "friend of God," while his son claims it means "master of the universe."
Either way, it is clear that Antle wanted others to think of him as a powerful person. According to those interviewed in Tiger King, it worked.
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