‘Tiger King’ trainer ‘Doc’ Antle gets suspended sentence for wildlife trafficking

‘Tiger King’ trainer ‘Doc’ Antle gets suspended sentence for wildlife trafficking

Virginia’s legal professional normal says an animal trainer featured in the preferred Netflix collection “Tiger King” has won a suspended two-year sentence after being convicted of wildlife trafficking

ByThe Associated Press

October 4, 2023, 11:15 AM

Animal expert Doc Antle during an interview with host Jay Leno, May 1, 2002.

Animal knowledgeable Doc Antle all over an interview with host Jay Leno, May 1, 2002.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal by the use of Getty Images, FILE

WINCHESTER, Va. — An animal trainer featured in the preferred Netflix collection “Tiger King” has won a suspended two-year sentence after being convicted of wildlife trafficking in Virginia, the state legal professional normal’s place of work introduced.

Bhagavan “Doc” Antle additionally was once banned from proudly owning and working in unique wild animals within the state for 5 years, Attorney General Jason Miyares mentioned Tuesday in a commentary.

Antle was once accused of illegally purchasing endangered lion cubs in Frederick County, Virginia, for show and benefit at his South Carolina zoo. A jury convicted him in June of 2 legal counts every of wildlife trafficking and conspiring to wildlife site visitors. He had confronted as much as two decades in jail.

Antle, who owns the Myrtle Beach Safari, seemed in “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” a Netflix documentary miniseries that all for tiger breeders.

Prosecutors mentioned Myrtle Beach Safari’s profitable petting zoo motivated Antle to handle a gentle provide of immature lion cubs and that there have been unlawful cub exchanges in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Miyares mentioned the prosecution of the case sends a transparent message.

“In Virginia, we uphold the rule of law without exception, whether dealing with violent repeat offenders, big pharma, fraudsters and scammers, or wildlife traffickers,” he mentioned.

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