Tiger King star Doc Antle has been fined $10,000 and banned from owning exotic animals after buying endangered lion cubs in Virginia.
Antle, real name Bhagavan Antle, 63, has also been ordered to stay away from exotic animals after he was sentenced yesterday.
In June he was convicted by a jury of two counts of wildlife trafficking and two counts of conspiring to traffic wildlife after purchasing the animals, which he intended to showcase outside his business in South Carolina.
Antle was sentenced on Tuesday by a Frederick County judge to two years in prison with time suspended for each charge, to run concurrently.
He has been ordered to hand over the maximum fee of $2,500 per conviction, amounting to a $10,000 fine.
In June Antle was convicted by a jury of two counts of wildlife trafficking and two counts of conspiring to traffic wildlife after purchasing the animals, which he intended to showcase outside his business in South Carolina (File Photo)
In June 2022, Antle was charged with laundering $505,000, money federal prosecutors said that he believed to be the proceeds of an operation that smuggled people across the Mexican border into the United States
Antle has also been banned from working with, owning, brokering, buying, selling, trading, transferring, bartering or donating exotic animals for five years in Virginia.
‘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,’ the DA said in a statement.
Antle appeared in the wildly popular 2020 Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, shedding light on big cat breeders and private zoos in the US.
The show followed eccentric Oklahoma animal park boss Joe Exotic, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for a murder-for-hire attempt on a rival and animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
Antle is portrayed as Joe’s mentor. He is also shown to have a cult-like approach to business, as a polygamist with a string of devoted female employee followers.
Antle’s history of violations dates back to 1989 when he received a fine from the US Department of Agriculture for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Virginia.
He has since amassed more than 35 USDA violations for mistreatment of animals.
Antle posing with big cats. Antle was sentenced on Tuesday by a Frederick County judge to two years in prison with time suspended for each charge, to run concurrently
In June 2022, Antle was charged with laundering $505,000, money federal prosecutors said that he believed to be the proceeds of an operation that smuggled people across the Mexican border into the United States.
He could spend up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of the money laundering charges.
In October 2020, the American animal trainer was indicted for felony wildlife trafficking in Virginia.
As per the state’s attorney general, Antle was charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, and 13 misdemeanor charges relating to animal cruelty and the Endangered Species Act.
Antle’s daughters, Tawny Antle and Tilakum Watterson, were also charged with misdemeanors.
Tawny was charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals, while Tilakum was charged with two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Antle told TMZ at the time: ‘I am terribly shocked and disappointed at the charges that have been filed against me by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and how they have sought to involve my daughters in this matter.’
He went on to ‘categorically deny’ the charges as well as ‘any act or conduct that could ever be considered as “animal cruelty”.’
Antle with a tiger over his shoulder. He appeared in the wildly popular 2020 Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, shedding light on big cat breeders and private zoos in the US
He has also faced criticism from PETA for allowing celebrity guests like Beyoncé, Floyd Mayweather and Larsa Pippen to physically interact with wild animals at his park.
The California native was also part of Britney Spears’ iconic 2001 I’m a Slave 4 U VMAs performance, during which he was the animal handler.
Spears, 41, started the show inside a cage with Antle and a liger – a hybrid of a tiger mother and lion father – then walked onto the stage where she danced with a python wrapped around her shoulders.
According to his website, he has also worked as an animal handler on films including Ace Ventura, Dr. Doolittle, Mighty Joe Young and The Jungle Book.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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