Tiger King subject Doc Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari reserve is currently “not planning to cancel any tours” due to coronavirus. In a statement in its website, the Myrtle Beach Safari explained its intentions and position, writing, “We are also following the CDC guidelines and taking all necessary health precautions. Should you need to reschedule your tour for a later date, please contact us via email or phone.”
In a since-deleted post in Instagram, the Myrtle Beach Safari took the Tiger King producers to task over it he feels Antle was portrayed, writing, “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. It is important to understand that this series is not a documentary; it’s sensationalized entertainment with paid participants. Tiger King is the bizarre story of Joe and Carole and their feud. These characters are not representative of experts in the wildlife sector or world class facilities like ours here in Myrtle Beach.”
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The statement continued, “Myrtle Beach Safari has been recognized by the state of South Carolina as one of the pre-eminent wildlife facilities in the United States. We’ve also received international accolades for the critical role we provide with our qualified, captive breeding programs and our global conservation efforts of threatened and endangered species.”
The Myrtle Beach Safari continued by asserting that it “adheres to all USDA guidelines, and our animals are treated with the utmost care. We have never had a USDA violation and work collaboratively with various state and federal wildlife agencies to ensure our animals receive the very best life each and every day. Over the decades we have heard every sort of fantasy scenario regarding our facility. Many of these less-than-flattering mistruths have been manufactured by those in the animal rights movement that oppose animal ambassador programs of any sort.”
The statement concluded by saying, “In the end, we hope you will come visit us and judge for yourself. Every visitor to our facility quickly recognizes the magical place we have created. We remain open during these challenging times with both Day and Night Safari options. Our tours are held outdoors and our 50 acre preserve provides plenty of area for social distance.”
Tiger king co-producer Rebecca Chaiklin has since responded to Antle’s claims, telling the Los Angeles Times, “We licensed a huge amount of archival footage and personal footage, and we paid for it, the same way we would pay Getty or CNN. Other than that, we paid for a few locations here or there and a couple of life rights deals, because at a certain point there were like eight other documentaries. Categorically, we do not pay people for interviews.”
