Hey all you cool cats and kittens, do we have some major “Tiger King” news for you.
Carole Baskin will soon take control of the zoo formerly operated by Joe Exotic’s in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
Carole’s Big Cat Rescue Corp. was granted ownership and control of the zoo as part of a trademark judgement against Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage. According to court docs obtained by NBC News from Carole Baskin, a judge in Oklahoma City ruled that Big Cat Rescue had proved that Exotic had fraudulently transferred the zoo to Joe’s mother, Shirley M. Schreibvogel, back in 2011.
The G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park has been under the control of Jeff Lowe in recent years, but he now has 120 days to vacate the zoo, including all of his animals currently residing there, according to Courthouse News.
“Over a year ago Mr. Lowe announced plans to move the animals to a location in Thackerville, OK that he has been constructing and he claims will be a better facility. He recently stated that he had funds to complete the zoo and a contractor who could complete it in a few months. If the need arises to make other plans to place the animals in new homes, Big Cat Rescue and the animal welfare organizations that have previously successfully placed big cats from large facilities in new homes stand ready to assist,” Carole said in a statement.
This is just the latest development and twist in the years-long legal battle between Carole and Joe. Currently, Joe is in prison serving a 22-year sentence after he was found guilty in 2019 for paying a hitman $3,000 to kill Carole.
The drama over the competing big cat organizations was recently highlighted in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King” which caused a pop culture obsession with the people involved. Many people including celebrities recreated some of the character’s eclectic style, fashion and memorable tag lines.