Jeff Lowe is not happy with the authorities after they seized animals off of his Tiger King zoo property. According to TMZ, Lowe sent in a video he took while the animals were being hauled away and expressed his frustration with the police officer in front of him who was telling him where to stand. “[…] This is my property, and I’m not doing anything, I’m not in their way,” he said as he was asked to step back while one of the caged animals was being transported.
“I’ve been trying to cooperate with you, and you’re violating my constitutional right. You can take my animals because that’s what the warrant says, but the warrant doesn’t say you can tell Jeff where he can stand on his property.” According to the outlet, the animal seen in the background of the video is called a liliger, which is the offspring of a mail lion and a female liger — a mix between a tiger and lion. Lowe claims the animals are not protected under the Endagered Species Act, and his wife Lauren can be heard saying that the authorities are taking their hybrid animals and will plan to spay and neuter them.
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Their frustration with the authorities is why Lowe says that he and Lauren want to move overseas. “This is why Lauren and I are moving overseas to take over an animal refuge there. Tiger King made the USDA look so incompetent and they have a vendetta against everyone that was featured on the show.” In January it was reported that the they were looking to take his big cats away after he allegedly did not receive authorization to euthanize a tiger cub. Documents stated they were specifically seeking cubs that were a year or younger, and their mothers.
While that was reported, the outlet said that Lowe still wasn’t clear on why they were taking their cats away on Thursday from the Thackerville, Oklahoma zoo, although this was a continuation from a previous one. Love County Sheriff, William Grisham, told TMZ that his officers executed a search and seizure warrant, intending to take eight cats, but only left with four. However, according to Lowe, they took six. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was leading the operation, while the USDA was also present. They revealed the cats were taken for “evidence.” No arrests have been made and no criminal charges are pending.
